Hell Down Under

Sorry I am still not able to stop by on a regular basis; as frustrating as it is, I remain optimistic that things will change for the better in 2020, at least for my Facebook connections. I hope you all were able to welcome the new year in without too much stress. That was not possible, of course, for our friends in Australia. As I am sure most of you know, they are suffering the worst bush fires in their history; also facing record heat, this beautiful country now resembles Hell on earth.
The extent of these fires is staggering, They are using the unit hectare (one acre equals 2.47 hectares) The Amazon fires in 2019 consumed 900,000 hectares and the California fires in 2018 consumed 1,800,000 hectares. So far, the Australian fires have consumed five million hectares. The last that I heard, 24 people had died and many more were unaccounted for; hundreds of homes have been lost and it was estimated tonight that half a billion animals have been adversely affected by the fires. Unfortunately, the US media has not been covering this catastrophic story as thoroughly as it deserves; the BBC website and Australian media are better sources. Here is a link to a story about the fires and the devastating impact they have had on people and animals alike. I will also post a link to the Australian Red Cross for those who’d like to donate. In the past, Australia has often sent its firefighters to combat US fires in our western states. I am happy to report that firefighters from New Zealand, Canada, and the US have rushed to help; most of the brave Australian firefighters are volunteers, many of whom have lost their own homes.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia...