In a few days, it will be autumn. In a few days, Australia will farewell summer, in what has been the worst bushfire season our country has seen.
But let us not forget the turmoil, tears and tragedy our towns endured as our backyard burned.
As we welcome the raindrops and growing greenery, we mustn’t let the fury we felt just one month ago be blown away with the wind.
Watch: Andrew Constance on the mental health toll of the bushfires. Post continues below.
This bushfire season, which began in September, we lost more than 20 per cent of the nation’s forests, new research found this week. The study further confirmed the fires burned on a globally unprecedented scale.
We also lost 34 lives, including firefighters who died trying to protect their local communities.
Over one billion animals were incinerated, and koalas, among other species, are now closer than ever to becoming endangered.
These photos tell of the horror Australia suffered – still suffer – even as we head into the cooler months of the year.
"Seeing the fires from this perspective was devastating," the photographer Jodie Wilkinson told Mamamia at the time. "It made me think about what the clouds consisted of... it felt like I was looking at the souls of 500 million lost animals."
The mother-of-three Samantha Westaway told Mamamia this was "the most terrifying day we have ever seen here at Kanoona NSW".
"This is a picture of my Dad getting five minutes sleep on our front lawn, while my brother keeps watch over the fire burning at the top of our farm after he finished his 10th 12 hr+ day in a row fighting voluntarily in the community with the RFS NSW," Jenna O'Keeffe said.
In 2008, the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital saw 27 koalas in total. In 2019 alone, that number rose to 600 koalas.
On New Year's Eve, approximately 4000 people were evacuated and sought shelter at a beach in Mallacoota as an out of control bushfire moved in on the small town.
"This photo was taken at 2.3am December 30, 2019, whilst I (East Jindabyne RFS member) was working as a RFS crew member with a crew from the Smiths Road Brigade (from South of Canberra)," volunteer firefighter and photographer Brendan told Mamamia at the time.
Here, a wallaby is found dead at the Wingello State Forest.
Above, a burnt bicycle lies on the ground in front of a house destroyed by bushfires on the outskirts of the town of Bargo, just before Christmas.
These photos only begin to represent what was a horrific summer.
Of course, those directly impacted by the devastation could never forget. They don't have that option. For those who lost their homes and loved ones, the effort to rebuild, restore and recover is only now beginning.
As autumn arrives, it is more important than ever to help the communities in their long road ahead to reconstruct.
But we also must remember: this summer wasn't forewarning us of the future of climate change, but rather we witnessed first-hand the ramifications of global warming banging down our doors.
If you would like to donate to bushfire recovery, you can do so here.
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Top Comments
I recall reading something about Black Saturday and 173 deaths
I wrote this summer was nowhere near the worst summer and my post was flagged as spam.
Why do people want hide the truth?
They invented a new category of fire warning after Black Saturday: Catastrophic. It meant that the fire was too hot and too volatile for people to defend their homes in anything like safety even if they were well prepared. That's why in this fire we saw thousands of people evacuated.
In 1851 Black Thursday saw 25% of Victoria burnt in a bushfire. It wasn't as bad as this fire because they didn't fight the fire with all the modern equipment they have now, including water bombers.
If it wasn't for the lessons we learnt from Black Saturday, the new technology, and the dedication of our selfless firefighters, I imagine we would have lost everything. Sydney itself could have been under an ember attack and lets not forget how many buildings have highly flammable cladding. It would be millions of people being transported to safety by navy vessels and every other vessel available and all the rest huddling in the water, hoping for the best, in 40 plus degree heat for days on end with our bravest still trying to put it out and defend as much as they can.
So, sneer away. Imply there were worse fires. But never forget that we threw everything we had at these fires, including overseas fire-fighters, and the fires have only just been put out months later thanks to the uncharacteristically cold and rainy weather. If this was a normal year, we'd be heading into the hottest, driest, and most dangerous months.
And now, thanks to Scotty, our bravest will have to go before a Royal Commission to explain what they did wrong. The ingratitude beggars belief.
My main concern is comments magically going away - I'm still sitting on the fence about "the truth" for what it's worth.
... And my response to Grumpier was removed. Such is life