INTERNATIONAL WILDFIRES (21ST CENTURY)

2019

ECOCIDE
noun
destruction of the natural environment,
especially when deliberate.

INTERNATIONAL WILDFIRES

(Largest Fires of the 21st Century)

Australian Bushfire
Season (2019-20)

(Main Western Railway Line, Sydney, NSW)

(Original Image)

#2

LARGEST FIRE OF THE 21ST CENTURY

The Official Story

2019–20 AUSTRALIAN BUSHFIRE SEASON
(2nd Largest Fire of the 21st Century)

The 2019–20 Australian bushfire season or Black Summer was a period of bushfires in many parts of Australia, which, due to its unusual intensity, size, duration, and uncontrollable dimension, was considered a megafire. Exceptionally dry conditions, a lack of soil moisture, and early fires in Central Queensland led to an early start to the bushfire season, beginning in June 2019. Hundreds of fires burnt, mainly in the southeast of the country, until May 2020. The most severe fires peaked from December 2019 to January 2020.

The fires burnt an estimated 24.3 million hectares (243,000 square kilometres), destroyed over 3,000 buildings (including 2,779 homes), and killed at least 34 people. It was claimed that three billion terrestrial vertebrates – the vast majority being reptiles – were affected and some endangered species were believed to be driven to extinction. The cost of dealing with the bushfires was expected to exceed the A$4.4 billion of the 2009 Black Saturday fires, and tourism sector revenues fell by more than A$1 billion. Economists estimated the bushfires – Australia’s costliest natural disaster in history – may have cost over A$78–88 billion in property damage and economic losses. Nearly 80% of Australians were affected by the bushfires in some way. At its peak, air quality dropped to hazardous levels in all southern and eastern states, and smoke had been moving upwards of 11,000 kilometres (6,800 mi) across the South Pacific Ocean, impacting weather conditions in other continents. Satellite data estimated the carbon emissions from the fires to be around 715 million tons, surpassing Australia’s normal annual bushfire and fossil fuel emissions by around 80%.

From September 2019 to March 2020, fires heavily impacted various regions of the state of New South Wales (NSW). In eastern and north-eastern Victoria, large areas of forest burnt out of control for four weeks before the fires emerged from the forests in late December. Multiple states of emergency were declared across NSW, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory. Reinforcements from all over Australia were called in to assist fighting the fires and relieve exhausted local crews in NSW. The Australian Defence Force was mobilised to provide air support to the firefighting effort and to provide manpower and logistical support. Firefighters, supplies and equipment from Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and the United States, among others, helped fight the fires. An air tanker and two helicopters crashed during operations, killing three crew members. Two fire trucks were caught in fatal accidents, killing three firefighters.

By 4 March 2020, all fires in NSW had been extinguished completely (to the point where there were no fires in the state for the first time since July 2019), and the Victoria fires had all been contained. The last fire of the season occurred in Lake Clifton, Western Australia, in early May.

There has been considerable debate regarding the underlying cause of the intensity and scale of the fires, including the role of fire management practices and climate change, which during the peak of the crisis attracted significant international attention, despite previous Australian fires burning much larger areas (1974–75) or killing more people (2008–09). Politicians visiting fire impacted areas received mixed responses, in particular Prime Minister Scott Morrison. An estimated A$500 million was donated by the public at large, international organisations, public figures and celebrities for victim relief and wildlife recovery. Convoys of donated food, clothing and livestock feed were sent to affected areas.

New South Wales

The NSW statutory Bush Fire Danger Period normally begins on 1 October and continues through until 31 March. In 2019–20, the fire season started early with drought affecting 95 percent of the state and persistent dry and warm conditions across the state. Twelve local government areas started the Bush Fire Danger Period two months early, on 1 August 2019, and nine more started on 17 August 2019. In the week preceding 10 February 2020, a wide band of heavy rain swept through most of coastal New South Wales, extinguishing a significant number of fires; it left 33 active fires, of which five were uncontrolled, all located in the Bega Valley and Snowy Mountains regions. Between July 2019 and 13 February 2020, the NSW Rural Fire Service reported that 11,264 bush or grass fires burnt 5.4 million hectares (13 million acres), destroyed 2,439 homes, and approximately 24 megalitres (5.3 million imperial gallons; 6.3 million US gallons) of fire retardant was used.

Source: Wikipedia

2019–20 Australian Bushfire Season Statistics

Dates(s):	June 2019–May 2020
Burned Area:	Approx. 243,000 square kilometres
Cost:	$920 million–$3.65 billion AUD
Cause:	Lightning strikes (including dry lightning and fire lightning), Discarded cigarette butts, Alleged arson, Australian Defence Force (ADF) mishap
Buildings Destroyed:	9,352 (3,500 homes, 5,852 outbuildings)
Deaths:	34 direct, 445 indirect (smoke inhalation)