Category: wildfires

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This Heroic Dog Herds Sheep Away from Fires in Australia

As fires blazed toward an Australian farm, a border collie named Patsy took action to save her herd of sheep.

Allow me to introduce Patsy the wonder dog. In the early hours of 31 December 2019, while fire in Corryong was bearing down them, she and my brother rounded up the sheep and brought them to the safest paddock on the farm. She then found a safe spot while my brother fought the fire with a tractor and a tank of water. Almost all sheep are safe, along with the hay bales and silage, the shearing shed, and both farm houses. My brother doesn’t do social media, but Patsy does. Great job little girl 🙂Update 7 January 2020 – Patsy and her family are busy cleaning up the farm and helping others get sorted out. You can help too! They would love you to donate to these bushfire relief fundraising collections: https://www.wildlifevictoria.org.au/?view=article&id=145:helping-wildlife-during-bushfires&catid=11:wildlife-informationhttps://blazeaid.com.au/donations/how-donate/https://www.redcross.org.au/campaigns/disaster-relief-and-recovery-donateUpdate 5 January 2020 – Patsy is now on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/p/B67HA-xHJSH/?igshid=126abkbj2hytc #patsythecorryongwonderdog #strongincorryongUpdate 4 January 2020 – Patsy’s story is spreading, so for those people who would like to donate funds to help the Upper Murray community, please support these links which are confirmed to be genuine and keep sharing Patsy’s post 🙂https://www.parksideproduce.net.au/products/feed-for-fire-gift-voucherhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/xycjem-cudgewa-has-burnt?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheethttps://www.gofundme.com/f/a-little-town-and-its-community-need-some-help?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet

Posted by Cath Hill on Friday, January 3, 2020

It was New Year’s Eve, but no one was celebrating in Corryong, a small town in rural Victoria. Like other parts of Australia, the little village was burning, and the fires were threatening the edges of Patsy’s farm and her herd of sheep.

That’s when Patsy and her unnamed owner took a risk with their own lives to ensure that the sheep got taken someplace safer.

Patsy’s owner’s sister, Cath Hill, took a picture and video of the brave pup and posted it on social media. She called Patsy, the “wonder dog” and said she herded the sheep to take them to the “safest paddock.”

Which, still not super safe.

Then, Patsy returned to the fire. Hill wrote, “Cool as a cucumber, Patsy waited with [her owner] until the fire got close enough to fight with a tractor and water pump.”

Patsy’s owner doesn’t use social media, but Hill praised them both for saving almost all the sheep, as well as the hay bales, silage, shearing shed and two farm houses.

View this post on Instagram

And here’s Patsy’s sheep, safe and sound today!

A post shared by Patsy The Wonderdog (@patsythecorryongwonderdog) on

Hill also spoke to Metro about the devastation many around Australia are facing.

Everyone is just trying to get water and feed to their animals, shoot the ones that can’t be saved, get temporary fences up to keep stock secure, and put out all the logs and stumps still burning. And there’s people who have nothing left but the clothes on their backs.

Recent rains have helped keep the fires back, but more seasonal hot, dry weather is expected as summer blazes on. In fact, the summer has barely just begun.

Hill hopes her video of Patsy’s bravery will lift her country’s spirits. So far, her video has been shared more than 7,000 times, along with her plea for donations to help.

It’s the world’s hope that the fires will soon go out and Australia’s people and animals finally find some relief.

The post This Heroic Dog Herds Sheep Away from Fires in Australia appeared first on UberFacts.

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The First All-Female Indigenous Fire Crew in Australia Is Fighting 24/7 Fires to Protect Their Sacred Land

By now, you’ve heard about the awful and massive fires burning their way through huge swaths of Australia. On top of the terrible damage to the land, it’s estimated that 1 BILLION animals have died in the blazes. People from all over Australia and the world are pitching in to help in any way they can – including some that are pretty unorthodox. In one small Aboriginal community, a group all-female, all-indigenous firefighters are leading the charge to protect their town and their sacred lands.

The town is Lake Tyers in eastern Victoria, home to about 200 indigenous Australians. The town lies on a small, isolated peninsula and has just one access road in and out. The Lake Tyers Fire Brigade is led by Charmaine Sellings and the group is fighting hard against the blazes. Sellings said, “Just one crack of lightning on a stormy day could be disastrous. Things are pretty desperate. We are in extreme conditions, our dams are empty and it’s not a good situation. The crew will work around the clock. We hope for a quiet summer but we fear the worst.”

The fire brigade led by Sellings is the first of its kind in Australia and is made up of mothers and grandmothers in Lake Tyers Aboriginal Trust, a self-governing community. The remote town is surrounding by thick bush on one side and a system of lakes on the other side.

Sellings said, “We are the lifeline if anything goes wrong, so we have an important role to play, and I think people are generally very grateful for what we do. There was a sense of helplessness before we came along but we feel empowered that we can look after ourselves and our people whatever the situation. The community is proud of us and they value us.”

About 20 years ago, a series of arson fires threatened the land of Lake Tyers and the nearest fire brigade was 45 minutes away. In response, Charmaine Sellings and her friends Rhonda Thorpe and Marjorie Proctor decided to form their own firefighting squad with other local women.

The women are not only saving lives and structures but also “scatters,” or clusters of historical artifacts that are scattered throughout the bush around Lake Tyers. Today, the fire crew consists of four women, with a few other volunteers who pitch in when they can.

Keep up the great work!

The post The First All-Female Indigenous Fire Crew in Australia Is Fighting 24/7 Fires to Protect Their Sacred Land appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

The First All-Female Indigenous Fire Crew in Australia Is Fighting 24/7 Fires to Protect Their Sacred Land

By now, you’ve heard about the awful and massive fires burning their way through huge swaths of Australia. On top of the terrible damage to the land, it’s estimated that 1 BILLION animals have died in the blazes. People from all over Australia and the world are pitching in to help in any way they can – including some that are pretty unorthodox. In one small Aboriginal community, a group all-female, all-indigenous firefighters are leading the charge to protect their town and their sacred lands.

The town is Lake Tyers in eastern Victoria, home to about 200 indigenous Australians. The town lies on a small, isolated peninsula and has just one access road in and out. The Lake Tyers Fire Brigade is led by Charmaine Sellings and the group is fighting hard against the blazes. Sellings said, “Just one crack of lightning on a stormy day could be disastrous. Things are pretty desperate. We are in extreme conditions, our dams are empty and it’s not a good situation. The crew will work around the clock. We hope for a quiet summer but we fear the worst.”

The fire brigade led by Sellings is the first of its kind in Australia and is made up of mothers and grandmothers in Lake Tyers Aboriginal Trust, a self-governing community. The remote town is surrounding by thick bush on one side and a system of lakes on the other side.

Sellings said, “We are the lifeline if anything goes wrong, so we have an important role to play, and I think people are generally very grateful for what we do. There was a sense of helplessness before we came along but we feel empowered that we can look after ourselves and our people whatever the situation. The community is proud of us and they value us.”

About 20 years ago, a series of arson fires threatened the land of Lake Tyers and the nearest fire brigade was 45 minutes away. In response, Charmaine Sellings and her friends Rhonda Thorpe and Marjorie Proctor decided to form their own firefighting squad with other local women.

The women are not only saving lives and structures but also “scatters,” or clusters of historical artifacts that are scattered throughout the bush around Lake Tyers. Today, the fire crew consists of four women, with a few other volunteers who pitch in when they can.

Keep up the great work!

The post The First All-Female Indigenous Fire Crew in Australia Is Fighting 24/7 Fires to Protect Their Sacred Land appeared first on UberFacts.

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These Tragic Photos Show the Apocalyptic Devastation of the Australian Bushfires

I visited Australia in 2001, and it truly is a remarkable country. It’s a beautiful place filled with friendly, hard-working, generous people, and weird animals that you can’t find anywhere else in the world.

The devastating wildfires taking place in Australia are so enormous and have killed so many animals – scientists estimate nearly half a billion – that it is almost incomprehensible. Here are 15 moving photos to show you the hell on Earth that is occurring right now Down Under.

https://twitter.com/Sci_Phile/status/1213703245794693120/photo/1

Be sure to look through all the photos and scroll to the end of the article to find out how you can help!

1. Watching it burn.

2. Heroes.

This fire fighter (and all FF’s) saving the people, animals, and homes in Australia. from HumansBeingBros

3. All those poor animals.

4. Unbelievable.

5. These guys need a rest.

Exhausted firefighters in Australia from pics

6. World on fire.

Balmattum Hill is really glowing tonight, however not as much as all of our incredible & selfless emergency services. Thank you 🙏

Posted by Melissa Ericksen on Saturday, January 4, 2020

7. The numbers are staggering.

8. The eyes say a lot.

My uncle at the end of a 13 hour shift volunteering with NSW RFS from australia

9. The smoke is moving.

Caught the smoke as it was spreading over our suburb in Australia from pics

10. Hell opens up.

Hell opens up in Australia. Thoughts go out to our brave fire fighters. from pics

11. Scorched earth.

In Australia after a fire. from pics

12. All red.

No filters. Australia is red from wildfires. from pics

13. Raging inferno.

A picture one of the local postmen took from his front yard. This was in Forster. from australia

14. Looks like the Apocalypse.

This is a pyrocumulus cloud produced by smoke from the Australian bushfires. It’s 12km high. It produces its own thunderstorms, fire tornadoes and 100km/h winds. from WTF

15. No filter.

No filter. A motel in NSW Australia in middle of the day. from WTF

Click HERE to learn about how you can help out and organizations you can donate to help out during this terrible tragedy

The post These Tragic Photos Show the Apocalyptic Devastation of the Australian Bushfires appeared first on UberFacts.

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This Dog Is in Charge of Finding Koalas That Have Survived Australia’s Bushfires

It’s devastating to watch scenes of scorched, singed, and confused koala bears as the bushfires continue to rage throughout Australia. The fires have destroyed land and homes in New South Wales and Queensland but have also tragically taken a huge toll on the koala population in the country.

Because koala habitat is being destroyed in such huge acreage in the blazes, teams are venturing into the burned areas to try to find and rescue koala bears.

One of the most important team members in these searches is a dog – who we can genuinely call a hero – named Bear.

Posted by Queensland Koala Crusaders on Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Bear is a koala detection dog who has been dispatched to Queensland to help find unfortunate little creatures that have been affected by the fires.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare said on its Facebook page,

“Our koala detection dog Bear is bringing a glimmer of hope for koalas suffering from Australia’s deadly bushfires—but these animals need more heroes to save them from this ongoing disaster. Our koala detection dog Bear is an integral part of these rescue efforts. He was recently deployed to southeast Queensland and one of the hardest-hit areas of New South Wales where the bushfires decimated local koala populations. Bear is one of the few detection dogs who can locate live koalas through the scent of their fur.”

Bear is now 6 years old, and he’s obviously found his calling in life.

You can help out by donating to this nonprofit fundraiser HERE.

Sadly, it seems that, in New South Wales at least, some koala populations are being pushed to the brink of extinction due to the fires.

The post This Dog Is in Charge of Finding Koalas That Have Survived Australia’s Bushfires appeared first on UberFacts.

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The Amazon Rainforest Is Burning, and It’s an Environmental Disaster

The Amazon rainforest is on fire, and experts say this wildfire will affect climate change for many years to come.

CNN reported that The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) has said the fires are burning at the highest rate they’ve seen since tracking started in 2013.

Sao Paulo, 1700 miles away, is seeing smoke from the fire’s blazes.

Video shows heavy smoke and smog overcoming the city and creating black out conditions.

Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay, too, are seeing heavy, black smoke coming from the Brazilian fires.

The INPE also reported there were 72,843 fires in Brazil this year. More than half of those fires burned in the Amazon. This represents an 80 percent increase in the total number of fires over last year.

Photo Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Natural disasters can spark flames when the area is dry, but these fires are also frequently started illegally by ranchers trying to clear out forest to create grazing land for cattle. Environmentalists are blaming Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, for relaxing laws limiting deforestation and underplaying the disaster in general to the rest of the world.

According to the BBC, the Amazon rainforest contributes 20 percent of the Earth’s oxygen. Plus, the rainforest is home to millions of species of plants and animals, as well as over one million indigenous people.

The rainforest is critical to millions of lives and to the Earth, itself.

If the Amazon is destroyed, the World Wildlife Fund says the area will likely become a savannah, but inhospitable to people, animals or plants.

And instead of pumping out oxygen, the new savannah will be the Earth’s next major source of carbon emissions. Meaning, the Amazon will no longer serve as the lungs of the world, but will begin pump out enough carbon to actually drive the climate crisis.

This is bad news, folks. Bad news indeed.

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