Since December, Australia has been on fire because of the dry, hot summers there. Over billions of animals have died and become on the verge of extinction.

WHAT CAUSED THE AUSTRALIAN FIRES and WHO’S RESPONSIBLE?

During the Australian summer, fires blaze from the hot, dry weather making it easy to start and spread.

People are mostly to blame for these fires. “NSW Police have charged at least 24 people with deliberately starting bushfires, and have taken legal action against 183 people for fire-related offenses since November,” said a current police statement.

People aren’t the only ones to blame for the fires, natural causes are also a big reason for the fires. Dry lightning was responsible for starting several fires in Victoria’s East Gippsland in late December, which then traveled more than 12.4 miles in just five hours, according to state agency Victoria Emergency.

By the first weeks of January, about 14 million acres had been burned, mainly in the states of New South Wales and Victoria.

According to HuffPost, ecologists at the University of Sydney estimate more than one billion birds, reptiles and mammals in New South Wales alone are likely to have died in the rapidly spreading wildfires.

More than 1,200 homes have been destroyed and millions of acres of land scorched.

Australia is experiencing one of its worst droughts in decades. The country’s Bureau of Meteorology said in December that last spring was the driest on record. “A heatwave in December broke the record for the highest nationwide average temperature, with some places sweltering under temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius (about 113-120 degrees Fahrenheit),” according to CNN.

Strong winds have also made the fires and smoke spread more rapidly.

DONATIONS 

In the spring of 2019, the roof of the Notre Dame cathedral burned down for two days in Paris, France. The French government and other world governments, billionaires and everyday people came together within 10 days and raised $828.67 million. “The cost is [a minimum of] around €300 million and the high level is around €600 million but we need to have two or three months to have the right cost,” Untec president Pascal Asselin said to the BBC.

The donations for the fires didn’t come as fast as Notre Dame. Around, $51 million was raised just in January of 2020.

Once people heard about the lack of donation, they took it quickly to social media to express their reactions.

Celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Ellen DeGeneres, Leonardo DiCaprio and many others have donated billions to take care of the animals and fires.

Even Australian comedian Celeste Barber has raised more than $32 million for wildfire relief on Facebook. It’s the most money ever raised in Facebook’s fundraising history, Facebook told CBS News. Over 2 million people have donated to Barber’s fundraiser.

“Hey billionaires, Notre Dame burning down sucked. I get it. Times that by a trillion and that’s what’s happening in Australia,” Barber tweeted.

“Donations have come from 75 countries, and over 19,000 fundraisers have been created for 250 organizations supporting the relief efforts,” according to CBS news.

Agua Fria senior Carlos Johnson said, “People aren’t giving money as fast as they gave money to the Notre Dame fire and it’s really sad. You can always keep building a church but fixing nature is limited.”

Junior Bella Tarzia also said, “It’s really sad that this is happening in the world and I’m glad the animals and people are getting to safety.”

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that he had established a National Bushfire Recovery Agency to coordinate recovery efforts.

CLOSE TO HOME

Many firemen have sacrificed their lives fighting these fires. Sadly, 3 US firemen have died fighting the Australian fire. One of the three was the Buckeye fireman, Paul Hudson. He died in a plane crash while fighting to extinguish the wildfires from the Australian wilderness.

He was killed when the C-130 Hercules aerial water tanker he was in crashed. The cause of the crash is not yet known.

Hudson’s friend Gary Billings told AzCentral, “[It] was just another day in the life of a man devoted to helping others”. Billings met Hudson back four years ago at the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia.

Hudson, who was on active duty for 20 years, retired last May, and had just settled into his home in Arizona last July, Billings told The Arizona Republic.

We all send our hearts and prayers to Hudson and his family.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP AUSTRALIA? 

As Australia attempts to battle this national crisis, organizations need all the help they can get.

Donations can be made to several organizations working toward victim relief and recovery.

You can donate to organizations such as the Australian Red Cross, Salvation Army Australia, the NSW Rural Fire Service, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society Australia.

You can also help the devastated animal population by giving to wildlife rescue and treatment groups like WIRES, the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital and Currumbin Wildlife Hospital.