Australia continues to battle wildfires that have scorched millions of hectares across three states.
Cooler temperatures and lighter winds Sunday brought little relief from the fires that firefighters have battled for weeks, but New South Wales Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fizsimmons warned residents against complacency as nearly 150 fires continue to burn across the state.
“We’re in uncharted territory,” New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said. “We can’t pretend that this is something that we have experienced before. It’s not.”
Thousands of people are living in campsites and an estimated two thousand homes have been destroyed. Twenty-four people have died since the blazes began.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been criticized for his handling of the emergency, especially after traveling to Hawaii for a family vacation during the emergency. On Sunday, he said the blame game is unproductive and “now is the time to focus on the response that is being made.”
Morrison has also been criticized for not adequately consulting local authorities before deploying 3,000 Australian Defense Force reservists to New South Wales in an effort to help combat the devastating fires. Morrison also committed $14 million to lease fire-fighting aircraft from other countries.
A Bushfire Recovery Agency has been established to help Australians recover from the disaster.
Pop star Pink and Australian actress Nicole Kidman have both pledged to donate $500,000 to support the fire-affected communities.
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