Flames were coming for people in their beds, in the middle of the night, announced with the dire and haunting words we became used to over these terrible months. "It's too late to leave; shelter in place" -Lisa Pryor
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| Australian Wildfires Illuminate the Night followmehere.com |
It may seem distant history, at the rate with which the world moves from disaster to tragedy, but a few months ago the world was watching the progress of massive wildfires that blanketed Australia. We saw the pictures of charred landscapes, ashen ruins of homes, and burnt animals approaching responders for help. We read the statistics of the unprecedented natural catastrophe that was sweeping across the smallest inhabited continent. Three thousand homes destroyed in New South Wales, 46 million hectares (or 114 million acres) of land burned, and thirty-four lives lost.
Yet, while news flashes kept us abreast of the extent of the destruction, the reason for this tragic disaster was more elusive. Why were these wildfires so bad? Was this year somehow different than other years? Will the fires continue to get worse? These were questions that most articles did not try to answer. Those affected were too focused on survival to worry about causes or consequences. Thankfully, the fires have been subdued for the time being and restoration has begun. Now Australia and the world can take a breath to wonder why this devastating force arrived at this place and time.
