Months of catastrophic bushfires in Australia have now burned 19.8 million acres, destroyed hundreds of homes, injured or killed millions of animals, and left two dozen people dead. Although cooler conditions prevailed today in some areas, the relief may be temporary—a forecast of strong winds and higher temperatures threatens to bring fires to the more-populated Sydney suburbs. Australia’s government has called up army reservists to help battle the blazes, and has pledged $1.4 billion in aid, as more than 150 fires continue to burn across New South Wales.
Australia’s Bushfire Catastrophe in Photos
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Read moreNancy and Brian Allen stand outside as high winds push smoke and ash from the Currowan Fire toward Nowra, New South Wales, Australia, on January 4, 2020. #
Tracey Nearmy / Reuters -
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Read moreThick plumes of smoke rise from bushfires along the coast of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, on January 4, 2020. #
Australian Maritime Safety Authority via Reuters -
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Read moreThe HMAS Choules, a landing ship with the Royal Australian Navy, is seen off the coast of Victoria, Australia, on January 2, 2020. #
Australian Department of Defense via Reuters -
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Read moreEvacuees are transported in an amphibious vehicle from Mallacoota, Victoria, Australia, on January 2, 2020. Navy ships plucked hundreds of people from beaches, and tens of thousands were urged to flee before hot weather and strong winds in the forecast worsen Australia's already devastating wildfires. #
Australian Department of Defense via AP -
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Read moreEvacuees are transported by landing craft to MV Sycamore in Mallacoota, Australia, on January 3, 2020. #
Shane Cameron / Australian Department of Defense via Reuters -
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Read moreResidents look on as flames burn through bush in Lake Tabourie, Australia, on January 4, 2020. #
Brett Hemmings / Getty -
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Read moreCattle stand in a field under a red sky caused by bushfires in Greendale, on the outskirts of Bega, New South Wales, Australia, on January 5, 2020. #
Saeed Khan / AFP / Getty -
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Read moreA military helicopter flies above a burning wood-chip mill in Eden, Australia, on January 6, 2020. #
Saeed Khan / AFP / Getty -
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Read moreA woman and three children prepare to board an Australian-army Blackhawk helicopter, evacuating from a wildfire-affected area, in Omeo, Victoria, Australia, on January 4, 2020. #
Corporal Nicole Dorrett / Australian Department of Defense via AP -
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Read moreAn Australian-army soldier carries an evacuee's dog onto an Australian-army CH-47F Chinook helicopter at the Omeo show grounds before returning to RAAF Base East Sale, in Victoria, during support for Operation Bushfire Assist 19–20 on January 5, 2020. #
Corporal Nicole Dorrett / Australian Department of Defense via Getty -
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Read moreA pyrocumulonimbus cloud formation is seen from a plane as bushfires continue in New South Wales, Australia, on January 4, 2020. #
Aidan Morrison via Reuters -
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Read moreBurned trees stand in the Wingello State Forest, in Wingello, Australia, on January 6, 2020. #
Brett Hemmings / Getty -
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Read moreLocal resident Dave Iredale walks among ash from bushfires that washed up on a beach in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia, on January 5, 2020. #
Saeed Khan / AFP / Getty -
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Read moreAsh from bushfires lies washed up on a beach in Merimbula, New South Wales, Australia, on January 5, 2020. #
Saeed Khan / AFP / Getty -
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Read moreA firefighter sprays foam retardant on a back-burn ahead of a fire front in the New South Wales town of Jerrawangala on January 1, 2020. #
Peter Parks / AFP / Getty -
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Read moreSmoke rises next to a gutted house in Quaama, New South Wales, on January 6, 2020. #
Saeed Khan / AFP / Getty -
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Read moreA kangaroo is seen in bushland surrounded by smoke haze early on the morning of January 5, 2020, in Canberra, Australia. #
Lukas Coch / AAP Image via Reuters -
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Read moreA massive column of smoke rises from wildfires burning in East Gippsland, Victoria, on January 2, 2020. #
Dale Appleton / DELWP via AP -
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Read moreThis satellite image provided by NASA on January 4, 2020, shows wildfires in Victoria and New South Wales, Australia. #
NASA via AP -
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Read moreThe flight deck is lit by the red glow of the fires as the aircrew of a C-130J Hercules attempt to land at Merimbula Airfield to drop off fire-and-rescue crews from the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales to assist in fighting the bushfires on January 5, 2020. #
Corporal Nicole Dorrett / Australian Department of Defense via Getty -
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Read moreA burning gum tree is brought down to prevent it from accidentally falling on a passing vehicle in Cobargo, as bushfires continue in New South Wales, on January 5, 2020. #
Tracey Nearmy / Reuters -
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Read moreA New South Wales Rural Fire Service plane drops a load of fire retardant as a fire smolders at Voyager Point, in western Sydney, on January 5, 2020. #
Jenny Evans / Getty -
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Read moreBurned animal carcasses lie along the road after bushfires swept through Batlow, New South Wales, Australia, on January 5, 2020, in this image from a video taken through a car window. #
The New Batlow Hotel via Reuters -
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Read moreThe sky turns red from the smoke of the Snowy Valleys bushfire, on the outskirts of Cooma, on January 4, 2020. #
Saeed Khan / AFP / Getty
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