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Emergency workers thanked for 'immense' sacrifices across New South Wales, Victoria

A petrol company has responded to the bushfire crisis in classic Aussie fashion while firefighters brace for much-needed rain across New South Wales and Victoria.

Natalie Wolfe and Ally Foster
less than 2 min read
January 14, 2020 - 6:25AM
SA Bushfires: Burnt animals rescued from fire-ravaged Kangaroo Island

It's been almost five months since Australia's bushfire crisis really kicked off, killing people and animals across the country and burning eight million hectares of land.

As the clean-up and recovery efforts continue, the government on Tuesday kicked off discussions with fire-affected communities on how they could get back on their feet.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg discussed the crisis with big and small business heads in Canberra, along with Small Business Minister Michaelia Cash.

“These businesses are viable, but vulnerable and we need to do everything we can to get them back on their feet. The impact and devastation in areas of these bushfires have been unprecedented," Senator Cash said.

Westpac estimates the bushfire crisis will cost the Australian economy $5 billion and cut up to 0.5 per cent of its economic growth.

Here's how the day unfolded.

Updates

Free pies for emergency workers

In perhaps the most Aussie response to the bushfire crisis yet, an Australian petrol company is now offering free pies and bottles of water to hungry emergency service workers at its servos.

United Petroleum said it wanted to thank workers and volunteers for their "immense" sacrifices by offering what it could in bushfire-affected regions across Victoria and New South Wales.

“We are deeply saddened by the sheer loss this country is feeling right now,” the company said in a statement.

“To those fighting for people they will never meet, in conditions we can’t even imagine, thank you. Your sacrifice is immense, and your actions the embodiment of all that is great about our country.”

The free pies and bottles of water are being given away at United petrol stations in Bairnsdale and Sale in Victoria, as well as in Kambah, Junee, Kempsey, North Richmond, Nowra, Wagga Wagga, Wilberforce, Wodonga West and Wodonga in New South Wales.

It comes after the company donated $1 million to the National Bushfire Disaster Appeal last week.

Rain a ‘double-edged sword’ for bushfires

Desperately-needed rain forecast for NSW bushfire zones also brings the risk of landslides and flooding across scorched tracts of land, authorities have warned.

Firefighters have welcomed the forecast as the best news in months but the Bureau of Meteorology said the rain could be a “double-edged sword”.

“Hopefully some of this heavy rainfall will fall over fire sites and help control or even extinguish fires,” meteorologist Sarah Scully said on Tuesday.

“But it’s a bit of a double-edged sword because heavy rainfall and gusty thunderstorms bring the potential for flash flooding, particularly in the burnt- out areas of NSW and Victoria which are now vulnerable to land slips and trees coming down.”

Accumulated totals of 30 to 80 millimetres are forecast, with strong falls possible for fire grounds in the Snowy Mountains, southwest of Sydney and South Coast regions.

The rain will likely persist from Thursday until the weekend. “Over the last week we’ve seen a real shift in the weather pattern,” Ms Scully said.

“From the hot and dry conditions that have unfortunately become all too familiar over the last few months, to much more humid conditions.”

Some areas with thunderstorms could receive up to 100mm.

“From a fire point of view, this is the best week we’ve seen for many, many months in terms of easing some of the conditions,” Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told the Nine Network on Tuesday.

The downside is there could be localised flash-flooding, significant erosion and problematic run-off into water catchments.

Mr Fitzsimmons said to protect drinking supplies “filtration and other equipment is being deployed into the water systems”.

-AAP

Video shows just how quickly fires travel

A video of an out of control grass fire burning through paddocks in Myola, Victoria show just how quickly these blazes can travel.

The footage, taken by journalist Chris Pedler, shows the blaze spreading across a paddock in just a couple of minutes.

A Watch and Act has been issued for the out of control fire, which is travelling in a northerly direction.

"Staying close to a building you can shelter in is the safest option as conditions can change suddenly," the Country Fire Authority said.

"Continue to stay informed and monitor conditions."

Investigation into deliberately lit fire

Police have launched an investigation following suspicious fire on the NSW South Coast today.

Emergency services were called to the western side of the Princes Highway at Ulladulla at about 8.15am following reports of a grass fire.

The fire was put out before it caused any injuries or damage to properties.

Police established a crime scene, with specialist officers forensically examining the scene.

Initial investigations suggest the fire was deliberately lit.

Inquiries are continuing and investigators would like to speak to a woman who may be able to assist with the investigation.

She is described as being of Caucasian appearance, 170cm tall, of a medium build, and with dark hair. The woman was last seen wearing a dark jumpsuit/overalls with bright colours on it.

Anyone with information or dashcam footage from the area are being urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

'It's a business': Food will get pricier as govt encourages Aussies to 'stump up'

Agricultural Minister Bridget McKenzie has confirmed reports our supermarkets are about to get a little more expensive as struggling farmers work to get back on their feet.

"You might have seen reporting that supermarkets are letting the Australian public know that they'll have to pay more for their red meat. Yes, you will," Senator McKenzie said.

"That they'll have to pay more for their fruit and vegetables because of the bushfires and the drought. Yes, you will.

"The supermarkets also need to let the Australian public know that, because of the bushfires and the drought, you will have to pay more for your milk.

"Processors are doing the right thing by farmers by actually paying milk cheques when in many cases they're not getting the product.

"Therefore, that's having an impact on their business. It's up to the supermarkets to not just talk about being the fresh food people but get on with supporting, in a very real and tangible way, because farmers don't grow food for free, it's a business – I know we like to get a bit romantic about it but the reality is it is a business. They need to make a living.

"That means we need to pay the cost of producing the food. Through tough times such as we're experiencing now, drought and bushfire, are severely impacting the cost of our farmers and now our processors in the supply chain, so the other end of the supply chain needs to stump up."

Senator McKenzie said despite floods, bushfires and drought hitting farmers in 2019, at the end of the day, they all just wanted to get back to business.

"We need to get our farmers back to business, to growing food," she said.

"It's what they want to do. It's what they like to do. They like to grow grapes for wine. They like to breed cattle for meat.

"You name it, they want to grow food.

"So we need to get them back to their normal way of life as soon as possible. That's exactly what the $75,000 grants are all about. It's about cleaning up the property as soon as possible."

PM thanks the US for encouraging tourists to return

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has thanked the US for dropping its travel warnings to Australia and encouraging its citizens to keep their holiday plans down under.

"I'm also very pleased and appreciative of the revision to the travel advice by the US Administration, for that being scaled back to level one again," he said.

"I had the opportunity to raise this at very senior levels of the Administration and I particularly thank the US Administration, obviously the President but also Vice President Pence and also Secretary Pompeo for their kind attention and urgent attention to those issues and we very much appreciate that being revised.

"I think that will be a welcome encouragement to our tourist industry, not just in the bushfire-affected areas… obviously the discussions I had with the US Administration was to point out the broad nature and the large-scale nature of our continent and the fact that, obviously, you can still go swimming on the reef and you can still be visiting Kakadu and still be visiting Uluru and, over in Western Australia, and in Cradle Mountain and as I was able to say, the South Coast of New South Wales is open again as well.

"I very much thank the United States Administration for moving so quickly to address the concerns I raised and other officials raised with them in recent times."

'We're here for the long haul': Govt pledges $75k grants for farmers

Agriculture Minister Bridget McKenzie has promised to be with farmers "all the way" alongside the PM.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Senator McKenzie announced a number of support packages today including $75,000 grants for farmers affected by the bushfires.

"We're here for the long haul," Senator McKenzie told reporters.

"Our primary producers know that. Our regional communities know that. We've made that very, very clear. Today is the first step on what's going to be a long journey.

"Our farmers want to get back growing food and we need them to get back growing food. We're with them all the way."

Mr Morrison described the $75,000 grants as an "absolute lifeline" to the communities that have been devastated by fires.

"That can be everything from sheds and fences or it could be equipment, it could be the solar panels that actually power their pumping facilities on the dams or anything of this nature," Mr Morrison suggested.

"Carcass disposal, where they've been engaged in that. The need to employ veterinarians and things of that nature. This is crucial rebuilding, immediate recovery support that is absolutely critical to enable these primary producers, these farmers, these graziers, to be able to get through this first hurdle, to get over this first hump, so they can be able to put themselves into a position to be able to start planning for their future."

Mr Morrison said the government expected the $75,000 grants to total up to $100 million.

"This is an estimate. It is not a cap. This will be a demand-driven program," he said.

"If more is needed under the demand, then more will simply be paid without the need for any further decision. This will be a demand-driven program. The primary producer, the farmer, the grazier, does not have to have their principal place of residence affected by this in order to have access to this funding support."

Police hunt man over alleged theft of charity bushfire tins

Police are appealing for information after two bushfire charity tins were stolen from a pub in the NSW city of Wollongong overnight.

Security arrived at the Oaks Hotel on the Princes Highway at Albion Park Rail just after 3am this morning after a security alarm was triggered.

Police allege the alarm started going off after a glass door was smashed at the back of the pub.

Two charity tins raising funds for the Rural Fire Service and recent fire appeal were taken from the counter, before the alleged offender fled on foot.

Police are appealing for anyone who may have seen a man wearing an aqua hooded jumper, blue jeans and black and white Nike shoes around the time of the incident.

Lake Illawarra Police District Acting Inspector Matt Brophey urged people to come forward.

“Our neighbouring communities have been devastated by recent bushfires and for someone to target those who are vulnerable is quite simply disgusting,” he said.

“We have seen our community rally together in recent times to support those in need, so to see an act like this is extremely disappointing.

“We will continue to investigate, and we are urging anyone with information that could lead to legal action to get in touch.”

Horrific pictures from Kangaroo Island

As firefighters anxiously watch the fires still burning on South Australia's Kangaroo Island, animal rescuers are moving in to survey the damage.

Aussie animal rescuers have been working on the island for weeks now but pictures taken by Humane Society International has shed a heartbreaking light on the fate so many koalas and kangaroos suffered.

Koalas killed in the fires. Picture: HSI

"These are some of the toughest scenes I've ever witnessed: The bodies of charred animals as far as the eye can see," HSI's senior disaster response specialist Kelly Donithan said in a video.

"We've seen kangaroos with devastating burn injuries and dehydrated koalas gasping for water. We found one kangaroo so burned her feet and tail were nothing but exposed bones.

"Amidst all this death, every time we find an animal alive it feels like a miracle."

It's estimated up to 25,000 koalas – half the population – were killed in the Kangaroo Island bushfires.

More than 8,000 are believed to have died in northern NSW.

Flare-ups across the Kangaroo Island bushfire are expected to continue for up to two weeks, as fire crews battle to bring it fully under control. The blaze has already burnt through 210,000 hectares inside a 588-kilometre perimeter, destroying 65 homes and hundreds more buildings.

A dead joey on Kangaroo Island. Picture: HSI

A koala sits alone on Kangaroo Island. Picture: HSI

The Country Fire Service says it is still burning in various spots along the 120-kilometre eastern flank.

Almost 400 firefighters are still deployed on the island with 83 fire trucks supported by 130 farm fire units.

Australia's temperatures have soared over the past 110 years

A new infographic comparing Australia's temperatures for the past 110 years has painted a stark picture for our future.

2019 was Australia's hottest and driest year on record – easily seen in the collection of pictures from the Bureau of Meteorology.

Australia's mean temperatures for the past 110 years. Picture: Bureau of Meteorology

In the picture above, the colours compare the mean temperature for each calendar year with the average over the standard reference period of 1961 to 1990.

Dark blue means more than three degrees below average and the colours go all the way up to yellow and orange (above average) to brown – more than 3C above average.

The bureau's head of climate monitoring Karl Braganza also warned Australia's rainfall was likely to keep dropping.

“Unfortunately, we’re not looking at widespread, above-average rainfalls at this stage,” he said last week.

“That’s really what we need to put the fires out fairly quickly. It is going to be a campaign, in terms of the fires. We are not looking at a short and sharp end to the event – it looks like something that we will have to persist with for some time.”

The bureau also released an infographic showing rainfall since 1900.

Dark red marks Australia's lowest on record rainfall for the year while dark blue is highest on record. White records average rainfall.

Our rainfall over the past 120 years. Picture: Bureau of Meteorology

In the BoM's annual climate statement for 2019, the bureau warned of increasingly ferocious fire seasons.

Much of the country is affected by drought, while the national average rainfall total dipped to 277mm, the lowest since consistent national records began in 1900.

The previous driest year was 1902, when the national average was 314mm. Rainfall deficiencies have exacerbated the drought and created prime conditions for a prolonged inferno.

“Australian temperatures have increased by 1.4 degrees since 1910 and most of that warming has occurred since the mid-20th century, so that’s a shift in the entire frequency of weather,” Dr Braganza told reporters.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/national/south-australia/cleanup-effort-continues-as-smoke-from-australias-bushfires-circle-the-globe/live-coverage/89193988762357888efe581666baf656