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Articles on Bushfires

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Birds are disoriented by smoke and often cannot escape a fire. James Ross/AAP

A season in hell: bushfires push at least 20 threatened species closer to extinction

In a matter of weeks, the fires have subverted decades of dedicated conservation efforts for many threatened species.
The burnt out remains of a house in the Southern Highlands town of Wingello. There are three main factors to consider when thinking about the impact of bushfires on your personal treasures – smoke, heat, and water. Mick Tsikas/AAP

How to care for and recover personal items after bushfire

Items can be recovered after a fire – here is how to look after them.
Morrison has been too timorous to take the tough decisions needed to prepare for the bushfire season, including confronting rancorous dissenters in his own ranks. James Ross/AAP

Scott Morrison’s biggest failure in the bushfire crisis: an inability to deliver collective action

A crisis of this scale requires a willingness to listen to the best sources of advice and generate bipartisan consensus. But Morrison has struggled to put the national interest above party politics.
A volunteer sorts through donated clothing as part of a bushfire appeal. Generally, it’s best to give money - unless the organisation to which you are donating has requested specific goods. AAP/DEAN LEWINS

How to donate to Australian bushfire relief: give money, watch for scams and think long term

It’s worth thinking carefully about how to give, to ensure you’re not wasting your contribution or inadvertently making things worse.
Use the slider tool in the images below to see before and after NASA satellite images of Australia’s fire and drought effects. NASA

‘This crisis has been unfolding for years’: 4 photos of Australia from space, before and after the bushfires

We pulled four before-and-after NASA satellite images and asked bushfire researcher Grant Williamson to reflect on the story they tell.
Locally managed hazard reduction could give communities greater ownership over prevention and leverage local knowledge. David Bowman

There’s no evidence ‘greenies’ block bushfire hazard reduction but here’s a controlled burn idea worth trying

Local, self organised, community groups can be supported to do strategic hazard reduction through a range of techniques – including targeted grazing, and prescribed or fuel reduction burning.
The consequences of underinsurance aren’t just personal. They potentially harm local communities permanently, as those unable to rebuild move away. Dean Lewins/AAP

A crisis of underinsurance threatens to scar rural Australia permanently

One lesson from Australia’s past bushfire disasters is that too many homes are underinsured. But it’s a lesson we’ve failed to learn.
Residents of Grantham pay their respects during the dawn memorial service after the 2011 Queensland flash floods. Research into natural disaster recovery suggests there is a long road ahead for survivors of the current bushfire crisis. AAP/PATRICK HAMILTON

Disaster recovery from Australia’s fires will be a marathon, not a sprint

Research on other natural disasters tells us there’s a long road ahead for survivors of the current bushfire crisis – but there are some key lessons.
An evacuation centre at the Hanging Rock Sports Club Function Centre at Batemans Bay, Friday, January 3, 2020. Maybe it’s time to rearrange Australian calendar and reschedule the peak holiday period to March or April, instead of December and January. AAP Image/DEAN LEWINS

As bushfire and holiday seasons converge, it may be time to say goodbye to the typical Australian summer holiday

Sending holidaymakers directly into forests and national parks right in the middle of peak bushfire season is madness.
A firefighting helicopter tackles a bushfire near Bairnsdale in Victoria’s East Gippsland region, Australia. State Government of Victoria

How to monitor the bushfires raging across Australia

Here’s how Australians and their overseas family and friends can monitor the movement of fire fronts in real time.

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