January 4, 2020

Australia Is Burning Like Never Before. These 9 Photos Show the Horrific Devastation.

It’s only predicted to get worse due to climate change.

Firefighters struggling against the strong wind to secure houses near the town of Nowra in the Australian state of New South Wales on December 31, 2019.Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images

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Australia launched its largest military operation since World War II this weekend, not against a human enemy but to combat the bushfire crisis sweeping the country. Thus far, 23 people have died as 140 blazes have devoured more over 12 million acres.

To combat the fires, which are only expected to get worse as Australia endures high temperatures and windy conditions, the government is mobilizing 3,000 army reservists, aircraft, and naval ships to help evacuations and fight fires, the New York Times reported Saturday. “It is the first time that reserves have been called out in this way in living memory,” Defense Minister Linda Reynolds said. The conflagrations now and in the future are expected to worsen due to climate change.

Here are more images of the relief efforts and devastation in Australia.

Residents look on as flames burn through bush in Lake Tabourie, Australia on January 4, 2020.

Brett Hemmings/Getty Images

 

Kangaroos graze in a field as smoke shrouds the Australian capital of Canberra, Australia on January 1, 2020.

Mark Baker/AP

People in Mallacoota, Victoria are evacuated by army personnel to the HMAS Choules after bushfires ravaged the town on January 3, 2020 in Mallacoota, Victoria, Australia.

Justin McManus/The Age/Fairfax Media via Getty Images

Firefighters struggling against the strong wind to secure houses near the town of Nowra in the Australian state of New South Wales on December 31, 2019.

Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images

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We have a considerable $390,000 gap in our online fundraising budget that we have to close by June 30. There is no wiggle room, we've already cut everything we can, and we urgently need more readers to pitch in—especially from this specific blurb you're reading right now.

We'll also be quite transparent and level-headed with you about this.

In "News Never Pays," our fearless CEO, Monika Bauerlein, connects the dots on several concerning media trends that, taken together, expose the fallacy behind the tragic state of journalism right now: That the marketplace will take care of providing the free and independent press citizens in a democracy need, and the Next New Thing to invest millions in will fix the problem. Bottom line: Journalism that serves the people needs the support of the people. That's the Next New Thing.

And it's what MoJo and our community of readers have been doing for 47 years now.

But staying afloat is harder than ever.

In "This Is Not a Crisis. It's The New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, why this moment is particularly urgent, and how we can best communicate that without screaming OMG PLEASE HELP over and over. We also touch on our history and how our nonprofit model makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there: Letting us go deep, focus on underreported beats, and bring unique perspectives to the day's news.

You're here for reporting like that, not fundraising, but one cannot exist without the other, and it's vitally important that we hit our intimidating $390,000 number in online donations by June 30.

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