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Australian firefighters are now fighting to stop the fire from destroying more of the island’s unique forest areas. The temperature is expected to rise to a maximum of 34 degrees on Monday, and the vegetation on Fraser Island is already extremely dry. About two-thirds of the state of Queensland, including Fraser Island, is affected by the drought.
The firefighters not only fight against the difficult weather conditions, but also the limited access to the north side of the island. At the moment, it is burning on two sides in an area of 74,000 hectares, but so far no property on the island is in danger. Tourists have been banned from traveling to the island until further notice.
Up to ten firefighting aircraft have been dispatched to fight the blaze, including securing sites important to Aboriginal people. In total, they threw about 250,000 liters of water on the fire on Saturday, but according to the fire service, this will only slow the growth of the fire.
– We really need rain, and unfortunately we don’t seem to have it for a whilesays James Haig of the local fire department.
Fraser Island is known to be home to various dingoes, local wild dogs, and is on the World Heritage List due to the ever-evolving rainforests and complex dune system. In addition, the island has an important place in the world image of local Aboriginal people, with hundreds of thousands of tourists coming to Fraser Island each year.
The rest of Queensland is currently experiencing minor bushfires, and the rest of Australia has also ended in the middle of a new bushfire season. Australia experienced its worst wildfire season in the summer of 2019-2020, when an area the size of Britain burned. 33 people and billions of animals died.
