Bushfires

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Lake Eyre/Kati Thanda flooding as seen from the air in October.

Fires and floods, fires and floods: Australia’s summer of extremes

Australia’s summer has been marked by repeated cycles of bushfires followed by floods, as Lake Eyre is set to be flooded for the second time in two years.

  • Bianca Hall

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The fire in central Victoria on Tuesday, at the base of the Tallarook Ranges in Trawool.

‘We dodged a bullet’: Bushfire threat eases for central Victorian towns

An out-of-control bushfire threatened lives in three Victorian towns on Tuesday.

  • Alexander Darling and Angus Delaney
Vets at WA Wildlife during bushfire season.

The ‘hidden’ workers at the front line of WA’s bushfire response

WA’s bushfire season is in full swing and for wildlife veterinarians, it’s the busiest time of year. Nearly 90 people have just been trained up to help.

  • Holly Thompson
Janet Rogerson on her farm just outside of Simpson in western Victoria.

‘It’s getting pretty dire’: Disasters leave communities stranded without phone service

Residents across regional Victoria are furious about regular phone network failures. The situation, they say, is putting them in grave danger.

  • Benjamin Preiss
Annabelle Cleeland and her five-year-old daughter Quinn (centre) with Lou Webb (left) and her children Tom and Fred, 3, and George, 6, and Felicity Jeffrey and her children Jemima,6, Sebastien,4 and Claudio,1, stand in the burnt out Jeffrey property in Whiteheads Creek. All three families’ homes were decimated by the Longwood fire.

‘I feel like everything’s changed’: Kids in bushfire-ravaged Victoria are returning to school

In many blackened towns, families are still putting out fires, mourning euthanised farm animals and defending their homes as preppies and school kids prepare for their first days of school on Monday. 

  • Nicole Precel
Wilkerr, found in the Big Desert region, are a genetically distinct group of dingoes.

Drinks delivered for dingoes in bushfire-ravaged national park

Authorities have installed temporary water stations amid concerns that fires that tore through the Mallee are driving parched dingoes onto private farms.

  • Bianca Hall
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The outskirts of the Otways bushfire.

Victoria heatwave as it happened: State swelters through record-breaking heatwave as Otways fire grows

The last time Victoria experienced such a prolonged heatwave was 2009, when Black Saturday saw the Mallee record 12 days above 40 degrees. Follow our rolling coverage.

  • Isabel McMillan and Cassandra Morgan
wo hot air balloons travel through the smoky haze blanketing the city skyline ahead of a forecast temperature of 45 degrees in Melbourne today. 

Victoria heatwave as it happened: State swelters under worst conditions since Black Saturday; fire threatens Great Ocean Road

Stay up to date with Victoria’s heatwave and bushfire threats on Tuesday, January 27.

  • Cassandra Morgan and Isabel McMillan
Grey-headed flying foxes at Melbourne’s Yarra Bend Park.

No end in sight to scorching heat as Victorians fight to stay cool

Amid Victoria’s all-time highest temperature, wildlife services worked to protect the state’s animals before more sweltering days.

  • Grant McArthur, Cassandra Morgan, Rachael Ward, Angus Delaney and Nick Toscano
Michael Blackburn with his privately owned ex-CFA tanker.

‘People just drop what they’re doing’: The double-edged sword being felt by fire volunteers

Usually, Michael Blackburn’s tankers are used for farm duties. But throughout January, their main role has been keeping his property safe.

  • Angus Delaney