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The Latest Breaking News from Black Summer

'Significant effect': bushfire smoke hits the heart, lungs and brain

The Black Summer caused widespread hazardous air pollution.

Newcastle Herald

Wildlife hospital gets boost for koala conservation

A dedicated koala care centre will open after 17 per cent of the marsupial's NSW population was lost in the Black Summer bushfires.

AAP

RFS not supportive amid calls for emergency oversight

A coronial inquiry into the Black Summer bushfires has been finalised, as the head of the Rural Fire Service resists calls for another emergency body.

AAP

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Burney welcomes ‘circuit breaker’ – as it happened

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The Guardian - AU

'Remarkable' more did not die in Black Summer: coroner

The report of a two-year Black Summer coronial inquiry has made numerous recommendations but left some impacted residents feeling ignored.

AAP

Black Summer victims in 'dilemma' over $4.5m payout

Bushfire victims won $4.5 million in damages over a Black Summer blaze, but up to 70 people will have to split what is left after hefty legal costs.

AAP

Wood-fire heaters cause up to 63 deaths in Canberra a year, study finds

Study finds annual smoke pollution impact comparable to Black Summer.

The Canberra Times

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Children who lived through fires fear the summer ahead

Rural children's charity Royal Far West says there is a spike in anxiety among children who lived through Black Summer, prompting calls for better care.

AAP

Queensland's fires are not easing at night. That's a bad sign for the summer ahead

This week, dozens of fires have burned across Queensland. More homes have burned in the state than during the 2019–2020 Black Summer – 57 so far this year, compared to 49.

The Conversation

App to help Aussies prepare homes for bushfires

A free app will allow people to assess and take steps to improve their home's bushfire resilience following the Black Summer disaster.

AAP

Even platypuses aren't safe from bushfires – a new DNA study tracks their disappearance

When the Black Summer bushfires swept across eastern Australia in 2019–20, thousands of animal species lived in the path of these megafires.

The Conversation

Australia ‘better prepared’ for bushfires than ahead of black summer as government considers national community service

Emergency services minister says service would likely be voluntary as government ‘wouldn’t want to commit to obliging people or forcing them’

The Guardian - AU

3,200 deaths a year: 1 of many reasons air pollution in Australia demands urgent national action

Australia is holding its collective breath ahead of a bushfire season that may bring a return of the smoke linked to 400 deaths and 4,500 hospitalisations and emergency department visits during the 2019–20 Black Summer fires.

The Conversation

Yes, climate change is bringing bushfires more often. But some ecosystems in Australia are suffering the most

Black Summer, Black Saturday, Ash Wednesday: these and so many other bushfire disasters are regular reminders of the fact Australia is among the most flammable continents on Earth.

The Conversation

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The Conversation

'Australia is sleepwalking': a bushfire scientist explains what the Hawaii tragedy means for our flammable continent

As I hear reports of the fire tearing through the Hawaiian island of Maui, I feel utterly depressed. As a fire scientist, I know the unfolding horror – which has killed 53 people so far – is just the beginning. It’s a portent of what Australia and other countries will…

Newcastle Herald

'You can't walk away': bravery of firies in face of catastrophic blazes recognised

Firefighters were awarded for their efforts during the trying Black Summer blazes.

The Conversation

The Black Summer bushfires put an enormous strain on families with young children. We can't make the same mistakes again

Floods, bushfires, heatwaves, cyclones. Australia is no stranger to emergencies. But during disasters we’re better prepared to support pet owners than families with babies and toddlers.

The Conversation

Supermarket shelves were empty for months after the Lismore floods. Here's how to make supply chains more resilient

From the outside, the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales seems idyllic. Rainforests, mountains, beaches and Byron Bay. But the past few years have made life harder for many who live there, with Black Summer bushfires, the COVID pandemic and intense flooding.

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Newcastle Herald

57 Lower Hunter firefighters to be honoured for Black Summer efforts

The firefighters will be recognised with a series of awards.

The Conversation

More than 60 billion leaf litter invertebrates died in the Black Summer fires. Here's what that did to ecosystems

The Black Summer megafires engulfing south-eastern Australia in 2019–2020 were so intense they burned habitats rarely exposed to fire, such as southern warm temperate rainforest.

ABC News

Selwyn Snow Resort in Snowy Mountains re-opens after destruction in Black Summer bushfires

Businesses in the Snowy Mountains are celebrating the return of Selwyn Snow Resort, reopening its doors next weekend for the first time since the Black Summer bushfires.

The Canberra Times

'Two-bedroom, ready-to-move-in' nest boxes help homeless animals after fires

The two-bedroom nest boxes prove 'nature can bounce back with a helping hand'.

ABC News

Black Summer bushfire inquiry hears of need for defensive strategy when back-burns unviable

The inquest into the Black Summer catastrophe is told that a back-burn that jumped containment lines and impacted coastal communities was unlikely to be effective because of the weather conditions.

ABC News

Black Summer bushfire inquest hears back-burn was needed to contain Currowan blaze

An RFS incident controller tells a coronial inquest that sitting back and doing nothing was out of the question as the deadly Currowan bushfire raged in 2019.

ABC News

RFS captain tells Black Summer bushfire inquest back-burn was a 'foregone conclusion'

A Blue Mountains fire brigade captain tells a NSW coronial inquest the decision to conduct a back-burn that later broke containment lines was a "foregone conclusion" by the time she found about it.

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