For those of you who may live under a rock, Australia is on fire and has been since September!
For perspective on how much of Australia has turned to ashes over the past few months let’s take a quick trip down memory lane with stats from some recent fires around the world, shall we? In 2018, the California wildfires burned 2 million acres. Then in 2019, the Amazon wildfires burned 2.2 million acres, and then the Siberian wildfires of 2019 burned 6.7 million acres. Now, even if you were to add up all of those numbers you’d still fall short of the 15.6 million acres that have already burned in Australia! And the fires aren’t dying down.
(Note: 12.4M is already an outdated number)
In an effort to put out these fires, which have already claimed an estimate of nearly 1 billion animals across the country according to University of Sydney ecologist Chris Dickman, at least 25 people have also died. Even with many Firefighters and volunteers fighting the flames officials still expect the burning to continue for months. In New South Wales alone there are currently 127 bush and grass fires with 56 that have yet to be contained, according to the NSW Rural Fire Service.
While some may feel there is nothing that can be done to help Australia from a distance, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Regardless of where you are in the world, there are plenty of ways to lend a hand and help; whether it’s donating to help put our and contain the fires, helping the survivors that have had their lives uprooted, and/or funding the rehabilitation efforts for the countless animals that have been rescued. Here’s how you can help today:
NSW Rural Fire Service:
with over 74,000 volunteers, the NSW Rural Fire Service is the world’s largest fire service for emergencies. Support their efforts with a donation, as most of Australia’s firefighters are actually unpaid volunteers who are currently working around the clock to try and contain these wildfires. Here’s how.
Country Fire Authority (CFA):
In Victoria, the fire services is the Country Fire Authority, and they too need your support! You can donate to the CFA Public Fund or to a specific brigade. Here’s how.
Australian Red Cross:
The Australian Red Cross is currently “offering immediate assistance in the form of $5,000 emergency grants to those who have lost their home.” The applications opened earlier this week for those who’s homes have been destroyed by the fires. And while the Red Cross Disaster Response and Recovery Fund has already raised over $31 million since the New Year has begun, there is still so much work left to be done as the fires continue to burn through the country. Help Australians get back on their feet, and donate here.
WIRES:
The WIRES Australian Wildlife Rescue Organisation is the country’s largest wildlife rescue and rehabilitation charity. They’re focused on rescuing thousands of animals from the fires and nursing them back to health. Donate to their emergency funds, here.
Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital:
The Irwin family has already treated over 90,000 animals from the Australian bushfires, and they’re working on building a new ward dedicated to the large number of animals that are coming in that need homes now that their native homes have been destroyed. Donate to build their new homes here.
First Nations Communities:
This Go Fund Me page was created by Neil Morris, a Yorta Yorta, First Nations man, in an effort to help the First Nations people. “The aim of this fundraiser is to offer a culturally sensitive , specific direct support to some of those communities with critical costs to cover expenses including” temporary relocation costs, basic amenities and emergency relief costs, resettling expenses, and refurbishment of damaged property among other things. Find out more here.