Australia’s Largest ‘Fire’ Brought under Control after 3 Months

After three months of continuous fighting Australia’s largest ‘mega blaze’ is finally bought under control, and the existing wet weather is expected to deliver much-needed respite for the countryside ravaged caused by bushfires.

The firefighters at New South Wales have confirmed that they finally had the upper hand in their fight against the Gospers Mountain fire located in the outskirts of the northwestern part of Sydney, which has been burning out of control for almost three months.

Shane Fitzsimmons, Commissioner of New South Wales Rural Fire Service said, “there was a small area of burning still to complete but the containment prognosis looks promising”.

The fire seared an area of a national park, which is three times the size of Greater London and lit several connected blazes. The total affected area is over 800,000 hectares of land, an area larger than Austria.

As the residents and authorities are gradually coming to terms with the scale of the devastation, the Bureau of Meteorology forecast says some fire grounds could get up to 50 millimeters of rainfall in the coming week which is a relief after a prolonged drought for everyone.

This fire saw a catastrophic hit to Australia’s unique flora and fauna, with an estimation of one billion animals killed and countless trees and shrubs destroyed. It has prompted an international outpouring of donations from across the world to help communities and animal populations.

The environment minister of Australia Sussan Ley has warned that in some areas, koalas may have to be reclassified as endangered again.

The political leadership of the country is going to suffer too over its handling of the fire, which was an outcome of climate change. A poll conducted recently shows Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s approval ratings have been nosedived in the face of widespread anger over his handling of the deadly crisis.

The News poll survey has shown 59 percent of the Australian voters are dissatisfied with the overall performance of the conservative leader and only 37 percent were satisfied, which is an abrupt reversal since his shock win in the election, last May.

Prime Minister Morrison has been criticised by the people and opposition for his response to the crisis, which also included his going on holiday to Hawaii, making a series of gaffes and misleading statements about his government’s actions.

Though later, seeing a backlash, Morrison has deployed the military, pledged billions of dollars in aid, launched the largest peacetime call up of reserves and increased payments to firefighters.