The Verge:

Dozens of fires erupted in New South Wales, Australia in November and rapidly spread across the entire continent to become some of the most devastating on record. An area about twice the size of Belgium, roughly 15 million acres, has burned. At least 18 people are dead, including at least three volunteer firefighters, and more are missing. More than 1,000 houses have been destroyed, hundreds more damaged. As blazes intensified in the days leading up to New Year’s Eve, thousands of people who were forced to evacuate sought shelter on beaches across New South Wales and Victoria. Over 100 fires are still burning.

Although there have been fires across all of Australia’s six states, New South Wales has suffered the worst. Nearly half a billion animals, including mammals, birds, and reptiles, likely lost their lives in the blazes in New South Wales alone — a staggering loss which is probably an underestimate, according to the University of Sydney. Eight thousand koalas, a third of all the koalas in New South Wales, perished. About 30 percent of the koalas’ habitat has also been wiped out.

I have friends and family in Australia, specifically in New South Wales who are affected by these devastating fires.