Since early November we have covered the fires live on 32 days, including continuously from 16 December to Christmas Eve, and again from 30 December to 11 January, often for more than 12 hours a day. Some were themselves caught up in the fires while on holiday, able to report on a harrowing experience only when communications were restored. Reporting on the fires requires a lot of driving, instinct and guesswork. These fires had little to do with the climate crisis, some were saying, but were down to “greenies” and their “policies” to stop hazard-reduction burning in forests and national parks. The climate crisis comes up in every conversation.

Source: The Guardian January 18, 2020 13:30 UTC