Australian firefighters are trying to control major fires that already ravage 40 percent of Fraser Island’s forests. The island on the east coast of the country is a tourist attraction and is classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site. The situation on the island could worsen because another heat wave is coming.
–
The fires broke out six weeks ago on the largest sand island in the world. Temperatures of up to 34 degrees are expected on Monday, causing the fire service to fear that the fires will spread.
“The vegetation on Fraser Island is extremely dry, so it is highly flammable,” said local responsible James Haig.
Not only do the high temperatures make it difficult for the firefighters to fight the flames, there are also hard-to-reach fires in the north of the island.
Already 74,000 hectares or 42 percent of the island has been affected by forest fires. Currently no houses have been destroyed, but as the flames are moving towards populated parts of the island, the authorities are forbidding tourists from entering the island.
About ten water bombers have been deployed. Some of them aim to protect Aboriginal sites.
Fires are currently also raging in other places in Queensland. This is also the case in New South Wales, the state with the capital Sydney. About fifty forest fires have already broken out there.
The summer of 2019-2020 is known as the ‘black summer’. The damage from wildfires broke all records, after one of the hottest and driest years since the weather measurements began.
– .
