Photo of sea foam in Australia

Deluge in Australia Drenches Fires and Eases 3-Year Drought

WELLINGTON, New Zealand  — Drought, wildfires and now flooding have given Australia's weather an almost Biblical feel this year. The good news is that a recent deluge in eastern parts of the country has drenched deadly fires and helped ease a crippling drought...
Photo of a fire near Clear Range, south of the Australian capital, Canberra

Wildfire Creates State of Emergency in Australian Capital

CANBERRA, Australia — The Australian capital region declared a state of emergency on Friday because of an out-of-control forest fire burning erratically to its south. “The state of emergency sets a clear expectation for our community that we need you to be ...
Photo of Wollemi pine trees

Australia Firefighters Save World’s Only Rare Dinosaur Trees

CANBERRA, Australia — Specialist firefighters have saved the world’s last remaining wild stand of a prehistoric tree from wildfires that razed forests west of Sydney, officials said Thursday. “The Wollemi Pine is a particularly important species and the fac...
Photo of Doug Schutz, the Tomerong Rural Fire Service Captain

World’s Largest Volunteer Force Fights Australia’s Wildfires

TOMERONG, Australia — The wildfire was behaving erratically last week, and Doug Schutz and his team needed to make a quick decision. So they moved a bulldozer from another job and used it to widen a firebreak. That likely helped prevent hundreds of homes from ...