Australia strengthens bushfire defences as economic, environmental costs mount

Charred farmland remains blanketed in smoke after the New Years Eve bushfire in Cobargo, Australia 6 January 2020 - Reuters 

SYDNEY (Reuters): Australian firefighters used a break from searing temperatures yesterday to strengthen containment lines around huge wildfires as the financial and environmental costs of the crisis mounted.

More than 10.3 million hectares (25.5 million acres) of land, an area the size of South Korea - have been razed by bushfires across the country in recent weeks, according to the latest data, with the southeast particularly hard hit. Imagery posted online from the Himawari 8 Japanese satellite and NASA’s Earth Observatory showed plumes of smoke from the fires reaching as far as South America.

Firefighters on the ground were making the most of a few days of cooler temperatures in the southeast to prepare for the expected return of heat and wind later this week that is expected to fan existing blazes and spark new ones. “We need to remain vigilant,” Andrew Crisp, Victoria state’s emergency management commissioner, told reporters.

“We talk about benign conditions, and the fire is suppressed, but it is still there. It is still tinder dry.”

Australia’s bushfire season started earlier than normal this year following a three-year drought that has left much of the country’s bushland vulnerable to fires.

Thousands of people have been left homeless, while many in rural towns have spent days without electricity, telecommunications and, in some cases, drinking water. Military-coordinated rescue and support efforts are going on.

Morrison on Monday pledged A $ 2 billion ($ 1.39 billion) to a newly created National Bushfire Recovery Agency.

The Insurance Council of Australia increased its estimate for damage claims from the fires to more than A$ 700 million, with claims expected to jump when more fire-hit areas are accessible.