#bushfires

Wanted to add on to @littlethingwithfeathers post about wildfire anxiety without making it any longer.

What you're experiencing is not normal, we all know that. Here are some things I found increased my anxiety because I didn't know they were "normal" during the 2003 Australian bushfires:

General anxiety: you will absolutely feel driving fear, panic or anxiety about fires especially if they get close to your location. This is why having a clear exit plan is vital BEFORE they get there. Decide early on if you will stay and defend or evacuate and let your family/housemates/friends know. Have a go bag with medications, important documents, photos and small personal items packed. This will all help when your mammal brain is panicking.

Weather: large fires create their own weather systems. Fire and smoke haze changes the colour of the skies. Expect skies with vivid oranges and reds, sometimes a blood red sun. As fires get closer the smoke and ash will start to blot out daylight, giving everything an uncanny grimy orange tinge. There may be black embers floating through the air even when the fire is miles away.

When a fire front is close to you the sky will turn blacker and thicker than night, possibly with that bright red sun. Birds and wildlife may go silent and the wind will pick up a lot. This will be terrifying. Try to stay calm and focus on your safety. Remember: you cannot outrun a wildfire.

The taste. You may find your mouth tastes of ash/wood/charcoal/ generally funny if you spend too long outside, even with a filter, even if the fire is some distance away. This is the smoke. Same with smells. Your hair and clothes will smell like smoke.

Touch: everything will feel grimy to touch from the ash. If you go outside, wear sunglasses (preferably wrap around style) to protect your eyes and wash your face with water frequently. It helps with the stinging in your eyes.

As tinderbox conditions continue to hamper wildlife assessment and rescue efforts, bushfires in Victoria have burned habitat crucial to bird and animal species, including eastern bristlebirds and dingoes.

Some plant species are feared extinct.

Prof Don Driscoll, a terrestrial ecologist at Deakin University, said he was particularly concerned for the state’s population of endangered eastern bristlebirds – shy songbirds with cinnamon-brown feathers – after fires near Mallacoota burned about 60% of their habitat at Howe Flat.

The state’s population numbered fewer than 200 birds, and any that survived the flames would now be exposed, Driscoll said. “That’s a particular concern because these ground-inhabiting birds are hanging around in dense vegetation, and they rely on that for protection from predators.”

Six years ago, authorities mounted a rescue mission to capture 14 birds, fearing the species was at risk of extinction from the black summer fires. There was no emergency mission this time around, Driscoll said.

Bushfires that ignited across Victoria in January have since torn through more than 435,000 hectares of land, as back-to-back heatwaves pushed fire danger to extremes, and caused thousands of flying foxes to perish in the worst mass mortality event since black summer.

Wildlife Victoria said there was likely to have been a substantive loss of animals given the ferocity and scale of the fires.

“The impact of bushfires on wildlife can be catastrophic. Native animals are often unable to escape fires and are highly vulnerable to death, dehydration, disorientation, burns, injury, and the loss of food and habitat,” chief executive Lisa Palma said.

The charity continued to receive reports of animals affected, mainly kangaroos, koalas and wallabies, after a record number of calls at the peak – more than 1,100 in a single day. Assistance was provided where possible, but many firegrounds remained unsafe for rescuers and volunteers to enter.

All animals were impacted by the fires, with mammals particularly vulnerable, said Driscoll, the lead author of a Nature paper detailing the biodiversity impacts of the 2019-20 fires.

“They can’t fly away like many birds can. They’re too big to hide in small crevices like some of the frogs, reptiles and insects could,” he said. Animals that sheltered in tree hollows, including greater gliders and yellow-bellied gliders, were especially at risk, he said.

Prof Euan Ritchie, an ecologist at Deakin University, said animals that survived the heat and flames could still suffer or perish in the aftermath through greater exposure to foxes and cats, reduced food and the loss of hollow-bearing trees.

Victoria was the most-cleared state in the country, he said, which compounded the effects of other threats.

Fires in the north-west of the state had burned through 60,000 hectares of Wyperfeld national park, an important habitat for wilkerr (dingo), as well as critical nesting trees for endangered flame-crested cockatoos.

Researchers don’t yet know the full extent of the damage, Ritchie said – they are waiting until firegrounds are declared safe to collect monitoring equipment – but at least one animal was thought to have died, from an adult population smaller than 80 dingoes.

“As part of recovery efforts, Parks Victoria has worked with the Barengi Gadjin Land Council to install temporary water points in areas of Wyperfeld national park,” Todd said. “The water points will help wildlife in areas where water is scarce to discourage animals from moving on to private property to seek out water.”

Some threatened plants may have been lost for good.

Prof David Cantrill, chief botanist at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, held grave concerns for the endangered southern shepherd’s purse, a small native herb with spoon-shaped leaves and “pretty white flowers”, after fires near Harcourt burned Mount Alexander, home to the last remaining wild plants.

Another major fire near Mount Lawson encompassed a fenced flora reserve containing the only known population of critically endangered summer leek orchids, along with several state-listed species, including the endangered dusky bush-pea and grey rice-flower.

Botanists were holding out hope that some orchid tubers may have survived in the ground, “providing it’s not too hot and hasn’t burnt too deeply into the soil”, Cantrill said.

Driscoll said fires were becoming more severe, extensive, and frequent due to human-caused climate change. As well as acting faster on climate change, he said states such as Victoria needed the capability for “rapid attack” – quickly identifying when fires started and investing in enough equipment and people to control and extinguish them before they escalated.

Some areas, such as rainforests and wetter zones, should be flagged for special protection, he said, similar to how Wollemi pines were saved in New South Wales during black summer.

Dr Tom Fairman, research fellow at the University of Melbourne’s FLARE Wildlife Research, said the state needed an overarching strategy for protecting priority ecosystems as bushfires became more frequent and severe. Elements of the natural landscape were already being lost as fires burned, and then burned again, he said.

There is still a complete fire ban in Victoria and news of a possible cyclone for NSW.

If you are able to donate for bushfire relief -

The Australian Relief Organisation (ARO) is working to provide emergency relief in food, housing and care alongside supporting community groups and front line workers, they have promised to double whatever is donated in order to boost efforts - https://aro.org.au/donation/bushfire-emergency-appeal

Disaster Relier Australia is a non for profit organisation which has a long history of supporting communities in need and will be working to aid bushfire efforts - https://disasterreliefaus.org/support-dra/donate/

If you are in need of support -

https://www.vic.gov.au/january-2026-victorian-bushfires - Government help and support payments for loss of residency as well as resources for mental health, financial aid, help with preventing livestock death and temporary housing.

https://www.australianbushfirehelp.com/recovery-assistance

Why are bushfires and heatwaves happening to this severity?

Bushfires are raging rampant at higher frequencies as a direct result of global warming. A lot of regions have cooled from the multi-day heatwaves occuring all over Australia but there are still 27 active bushfires, 1 known fatality so far, 15,500 livestock animals have died and 400,000 hectares have burned with the number expected to rise before the end of Bushfire season.

This is as a result of larger corporations not being held accountable for emmisions and environmental pollution.

- To aid environmental efforts and support a better future, get involved in local protests such as Extinction Rebellion and Greenpeace.

- Plant native trees and plants as a handful of trees can drastically lower temperatures of streets and help to offset a lack of wildlife and flora necessary.

Staying organised and involved in your local community and environmental organisations as well as volunteering and donating when able helps.

729 more ways to help and play your part - https://nesp2climate.com.au/how-are-australians-adapting-to-climate-change-here-are-729-ways/