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15,000 squares, 500 hours, 19 months: how I used embroidery to make sense of Australia’s catastrophic fires

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tracey-clement-1518268">Tracey Clement</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-catholic-university-747">Australian Catholic University</a> I slip the needle through a small loop of black thread, pull it tight and snip. Done. I have just tied off the very last stitch on an embroidered scroll that has taken me more than 500 hours across 19 months to complete. All of my artwork is extremely labour-intensive. But I have to admit, this is a bit excessive, even for me. It’s not surprising that I have been asked more than once “why not just outsource the labour?” and even “what is the point?” I always sigh and think enviously of plumbers. I am 100% sure hardworking tradies are never asked to justify the point of their work. Why do I work so hard? There is no one easy answer, it’s different every time. The labour intensity of my processes adds time into the equation and this both carries meaning and can change the meaning of the work as it goes on (and on and on). I always learn something unexpected. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/590597/original/file-20240426-17-sg7esy.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/590597/original/file-20240426-17-sg7esy.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/590597/original/file-20240426-17-sg7esy.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/590597/original/file-20240426-17-sg7esy.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/590597/original/file-20240426-17-sg7esy.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/590597/original/file-20240426-17-sg7esy.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/590597/original/file-20240426-17-sg7esy.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/590597/original/file-20240426-17-sg7esy.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A finger points to a knot on the back of a messy abstract embroidery done in black, red, orange and yellow" /></a><figcaption>The last stitch! Tracey Clement</figcaption></figure> I put my little scissors down and, before busting out the bubbles, I snap a picture for Instagram because #selfpromotion, but also because this is news, albeit of a very slow-breaking kind. This is what I’ve learned after stitching for seemingly endless hours: while no news may be good news, “slow news” is even better. My embroidered scroll is titled Impossible Numbers. It started as my attempt to memorialise <a href="https://wwf.org.au/what-we-do/australian-bushfires/in-depth-australian-bushfires">the estimated 3,000,000,000 non-human lives lost</a> in the devastating bushfires of 2019–20, a number impossible to actually comprehend. <h2>Doomscrolling an emergency</h2> During that long and awful summer Sydney was often shrouded in an eerie orange haze. You could smell smoke. Ash fell. But, like many Australians, I experienced the worst of it by <a href="https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/doomscrolling">doomscrolling</a> fast news. I was both horrified and fascinated by images of fires so huge and hot they generated their own weather, by pictures of houses reduced to smoking skeletal outlines that somehow remained standing, by headlines comparing the fires to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/31/mallacoota-fire-mayhem-armageddon-bushfires-rage-victoria-east-gippsland">armageddon</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/oct/30/australia-must-prepare-for-future-shaped-by-extreme-climate-bushfire-royal-commission-report-warns">the apocalypse</a>. This hyperbolic language implies we are locked in a war of good versus evil. Even headlines in the vein of “Firefighters battle blazes” pit us (people) against them (the forces of nature). And in the heat of the moment the language of war feels right. <a href="https://traceyclement.com/2020/04/21/apocalypse-now">I’ve succumbed to it myself</a>. But it is dangerous. This language reinforces the idea we can dominate nature; it frames the fires as a conflict that we can end by winning. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/590572/original/file-20240426-21-7mbf5w.JPG?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/590572/original/file-20240426-21-7mbf5w.JPG?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/590572/original/file-20240426-21-7mbf5w.JPG?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1432&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/590572/original/file-20240426-21-7mbf5w.JPG?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/590572/original/file-20240426-21-7mbf5w.JPG?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1432&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/590572/original/file-20240426-21-7mbf5w.JPG?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1800&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/590572/original/file-20240426-21-7mbf5w.JPG?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/590572/original/file-20240426-21-7mbf5w.JPG?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1800&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A hand holds a phone taking a picture of a long abstract embroidery in black, red, orange and yellow." /></a><figcaption>Viewing the world through the phone. Tracey Clement</figcaption></figure> I will admit watching a goat-toting woman <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-03/scott-morrison-got-bushfire-welcome-he-deserved-says-liberal-mp/11838476">berate a sitting prime minister</a> left me with a short-lived, but mildly satisfying, feeling of shared righteous indignation. But mostly doomscrolling just fuelled my sorrow and left me feeling impotent as, inevitably, the fast news cycled on to the next crisis (and the next, and the next). <h2>Slowing it down</h2> In October 2022, I finally stopped trying to process the bushfires, and all their terrifying implications, through the fast-news language of war. I picked up a needle instead. Of course 3,000,000,000 stitches would be too many, even for me, so I decided to stitch a grid of some 15,000 squares, which I filled with innumerable stitches – a nod to the endless stream of pixels that usually deliver our news. I started wanting to honour the 3 billion dead, that impossible number, but after months of stitching I realised I was “writing” a kind of slow-news story. It may sound ridiculous, but this tactic has been used before. The <a href="https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/en/the-bayeux-tapestry">Bayeux Tapestry</a> is a slow-news story that documents the Norman conquest of England through embroidery. It took years to stitch, and some 950 years later it is still in circulation. As an alternative to doomscrolling easily digestible fast-news stories of good triumphing (or not) over evil, I have created an actual fabric scroll which depicts a stylised firestorm building in intensity until it becomes all-consuming. <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/590574/original/file-20240426-16-lk14qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/590574/original/file-20240426-16-lk14qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/590574/original/file-20240426-16-lk14qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/590574/original/file-20240426-16-lk14qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/590574/original/file-20240426-16-lk14qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/590574/original/file-20240426-16-lk14qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/590574/original/file-20240426-16-lk14qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/590574/original/file-20240426-16-lk14qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A middle-aged white woman peeks out from behind a very long abstract embroidery in black, red, orange and yellow." /></a><figcaption>The artist with Impossible Numbers. Tracey Clement</figcaption></figure> Despite mimicking pixels, Impossible Numbers is resolutely handmade. It is too messy, too crude, to be anything else. It is bleedingly obvious (and there was blood) the will of a person is inextricably stitched into this image of devastating fire. Human labour is literally entangled in this artwork; it shows us as part of the picture, part of nature. And this is good news Impossible Numbers doesn’t have a victorious ending, or any ending at all. The scroll is not fully unrolled. There is no end in sight: the story isn’t over, it’s ongoing. In this way it points to the future; a future in which we are not fighting nature. And this is good news too. If you don’t have a spare 500 hours to process the news into slow news, don’t worry. By the time I finally tied my last knot, I found I had transformed my fear and rage into something tangible, something both magnificent and beautiful (if I do say so myself), no longer about me. It is now a slow-news story that is no longer about a particular event; something everyone can share. This is why I do the work. Impossible Numbers is on display as part of <a href="https://www.casulapowerhouse.com/prizes/the-blake-art-prize">The Blake Prize</a> at the Casula Powerhouse, Sydney, until July 7. <hr /> This article is part of <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/making-art-work-126611">Making Art Work</a>, our series on what inspires artists and the process of their work.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/227907/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tracey-clement-1518268">Tracey Clement</a>, Lecturer in Visual Art and McGlade Gallery Director, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/australian-catholic-university-747">Australian Catholic University</a> Image credits: Instagram This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/15-000-squares-500-hours-19-months-how-i-used-embroidery-to-make-sense-of-australias-catastrophic-fires-227907">original article</a>. </div>

Art

Aussie actress in catastrophic bus crash offered $16 voucher as compensation

An Aussie tourist left injured and stranded after a fatal bus crash in southern Italy has claimed the travel company only offered her a meal voucher for the inconvenience. Australian actress Sinead Curry, who has starred in TV shows like The Haunting of Nancy Drew and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, said that nine hours following the crash, the European bus company offered her a $16 meal voucher for her troubles. Curry and partner Salma Salah, both from Sydney, boarded the FlixBus in the city of Bari on June 3 for the long journey to the Northern city of Bologna with a transfer to Rome. However, two hours into the trip Curry said the “bus hit something”. “We were all asleep, it went airborne and spun around a bunch of times,” she said in a TikTok video posted the following day, showing her in hospital wearing a neck brace. Curry told followers the bus was “flung around like in a blender” before it landed down by an embankment, which she claimed was “on the other side of the road”. “Several cars then hit the bus moving the bus closer and closer to the side of the road,” Curry explained in her video. Italian and German media reported the bus crash occurred near the town of Avellino, approximately 50km east of the southwest city of Naples. Five cars were caught up in the accident and local emergency services were quoted as saying the “lifeless body of a man was found” along with 14 people sustaining injuries. Curry said there were 38 people on the bus, including another Aussie woman called “Caity”, who suffered a broken collarbone. After Curry was discharged from the hospital, fearing her nose was broken but was assured it was not, she made another video emphasising how she felt abandoned by the bus company. “FlixBus none of your numbers are working,” an emotional Curry urged. “They ring out and they hang up on us. We cannot get any information from FlixBus, we cannot get our luggage back. “They offered us by text a 10 euro ($16) meal replacement voucher for the inconvenience. “There are a bunch of people here who nearly died we don't have any information.” Curry later claimed FlixBus even blocked her on social media. “We just want some information and some help,” she explained, complaining that she was still waiting on her luggage to be returned. FlixBus issued a statement claiming “a support line and email” was provided to all passengers and their families following the incident. "Outbound calls were made to passengers who had registered their mobile numbers, and emails were sent to passengers with instructions,” the bus company said. “At all times, the safety of its passengers and drivers is of highest priority to FlixBus.” Two days following the incident Curry received her luggage and was in Rome after an emergency shuttle had been deployed for stranded passengers. However, she said that as they arrived in Rome, passengers were finding “shrapnel” from the crash in their bodies and she had gotten a piece out of herself. On June 5 Curry took to TikTok again, saying she and her partner were grateful to be “safe and in Rome”. Although safe, she did note that they were heading to the hospital to get checked again as she was suffering from “very severe headaches” and had intense pain in her jaw. Curry then thanked the “heroes” in Italian fire and rescue, who she said took her and her partner in and gave them pasta, crackers, water and a change of clothes. She said FlixBus had rung her twice at a later date to tell the couple to keep receipts for a full refund. Curry jetted to Europe for her dream holiday but given the incident, she and her partner are dumping their Italian plans to recuperate in Rome. “We are so grateful to be alive please hold your loved ones close,” she said. Image credit: TikTok

Legal

Heartwarming update for toddler who suffered catastrophic burns

The family of the boy who suffered burns to 40 per cent of his body have shared a heartwarming update. Elijah Whitton was left in critical condition after a fire ripped through the family home in Mildura, Victoria on May 1. The two-year-old was rushed to hospital where he was placed in an induced coma due to the devastating burns to 40 per cent of his body. Almost three weeks later, Elijah’s sister Alyia shared an update on his condition after his third wound debridement. “Elijiah came out of his third wound debridement surgery on May 12,” Alyia wrote on the <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/d86xr-fight-for-elijah" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GoFundMe</a> page. “He has adapted well to the changes made. Elijah had skin grafting to his face and to his lower body. “His swelling has reduced and his skin has improved. His breathing tube has been removed and he is now breathing on his own. Both of his eyes have opened. “However, he is still getting used to the new changes, he's been a bit more agitated since coming out of surgery, which is expected. “He is recovering incredibly well!! “Thank you to everyone who has contributed to Elijah's fight to recovery, words will never be able to summarise how grateful we are.” Aliyia also said that Elijah had his fourth wound debridement on May 19 - she is yet to update on the progress. If you would like to donate to Elijah’s family go to the GoFundMe link <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/d86xr-fight-for-elijah" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. Images: GoFundMe/7News

Caring

Photo snapped just moments before “catastrophe struck”

In what can only be described as a “catastrophe”, a truck carrying concrete barriers has been captured driving through a North Queensland intersection – careening around a corner in the Townsville suburb of Garbutt. Although the incident took place in March 2019, Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads re-posted CCTV footage of the scene on Wednesday and asked people what they think might have happened next... “Moments after this image was taken, catastrophe struck,” the post read. A second image shows the truck’s load wasn’t secured properly and depicts a concrete pillar pictured lying on the road. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7839756/sponarticle10-6.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/e77ca578d9254fe1a0d1f0399a9f64a7" /> “You can see just how badly secured this load was,” the department said, before strongly urging people to more carefully secure their vehicle loads. A $266 fine is handed out to anyone driving with an unsecured load in Queensland. Companies can face a $400 fine for the same offence

Travel Trouble

“Beyond the pale”: Class action lawsuit for aged care catastrophe

Staff members who hosted an unauthorised party at an aged care centre that is now riddled with COVID-19 cases have been slammed by the facility's CEO and the resident’s families. Six staff members were stood down on July 29 when it was revealed that an unauthorised baby shower had taken place at Epping Gardens in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. At the time there had been no positive coronavirus cases. The party was discovered by resident Maureen O’Brien, who buzzed for a nurse to attend but no-one checked in on the event happening or responded to the call. She pulled herself out of bed to find help but was met with the party happening. “She struggled to get up on her frame and she went to the nurses station and asked for a Panadol,” her daughter Donna told 4 Corners on Monday. “She was told off quite severely … but my mum wanted to know, ‘Why are all these people here. What’s going on?’ She thought it was a get-together.” In just four days, the first case of COVID-19 was discovered in the facility. A staff member had been infected along with a resident. After just six days, the virus was found to be spread to 60 residents and 22 staff, including all six of the attendees of the baby shower. In fact, it was discovered that two of the staff members breached COVID-19 checks to get into the facility on a night they were not rostered to work. 20 deaths have been linked to the COVID-19 outbreak at the facility so far and it is expected that more are likely to arise. Greg Reeve, CEO of Heritage Care which manages the facility, said: “It was arranged by one of the more senior registered nurses at the time.” He said the party was “beyond the pale”. “It was unauthorised, breached protocols,” he said. “I can speak not only as CEO but as a registered nurse. I think the lack of regard they have shown is something that is beyond the pale.” Mr Reeve’s said he did not know when asked by 4 Corners whether the party was solely the responsibility for the outbreak at Epping Gardens. A class-action lawsuit on behalf of 30 familiars affected by the outbreak at Epping Gardens is being managed by lawyer Tony Carbone who says that residents suffered due to the conditions of the aged care centre. Mr Carbone said that as cases climbed, staff were either unable to work or did not want to become infected themselves which left a void in the amount of staff members working. This impacted the quality of care residents received. “There were cases where people weren’t fed,” Mr Carbone said. “Which is extraordinary when you think about it.” Mr Reeve rejected the allegation that residents’ care needs weren’t met. “I don’t think they were neglected,” he said.

News

COVID-19 catastrophe imminent in the United States?

“Right now, things are looking really good,” said US President Donald Trump at Sunday’s White House coronavirus briefing. “We’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.” Some may say he’s optimistic. Others, might call him delusional. The United States is now the undisputed epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic. It has recorded 336,830 confirmed cases – more than Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom combined. Its death toll has now passed 10,000. And experts say, the worst is yet to come. “This is going to be the hardest and saddest week of most Americans’ lives, quite frankly,” said Jerome Adams, Trump administration’s Surgeon General. “Buckle down,” said the country’s top expert on infectious diseases, Dr Anthony Fauci. “Because it’s going to be a bad week.” Mr Trump’s overly positive view of the entire situation contradicted what he said less than 24 hours prior, when he admitted there would be “a lot of death”. America, to put it simply, is in a great amount of trouble. For months, it failed to prepare for the outbreak, and now its already flawed health system is nowhere near ready to deal with the coming onslaught. The Washington Post published a detailed report on the Trump administration’s response to the virus, based on interviews with dozens of sources. According to the report, the government received its first formal notification of the outbreak in China on January 3 – and for 70 “squandered” days after that, did little to prepare. However, China is to blame, as the country repeatedly covered up the threat of the virus until January 20, when it finally admitted human-to-human transmission was happening and made a move to lockdown Wuhan. But not even China can be blamed for the way the US government handled the crisis in the early days. On January 22, the day after the first coronavirus case in the US was discovered, CNBC asked the president whether he was concerned about a pandemic. “No, not at all,” he said. “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.” That was one of the first comments made which downplayed the severity of the virus. As the pandemic reached a critical tipping point, shortages restricted America to respond properly. There weren’t enough ventilators and protective equipment. This is largely due to the Trump administration’s slow response. A review of federal purchasing contracts by AP shows federal agencies waited until mid-March – not January or February, but March – to start placing bulk orders of N95 masks, ventilators and other equipment needed by frontline health workers. “We basically wasted two months,” said Kathleen Sebelius, health and human services secretary during the Obama administration. The lack of federal stockpile has left states competing with each other to secure the limited amount of equipment on the market. “You now literally will have a company call you up and say, ‘Well, California just outbid you,’” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said last week. “It’s like being on eBay with 50 other states, bidding on a ventilator.” Trump recently admitted that a death toll of 100,000-240,000 would represent his administration doing a “very good job”. The next week will tell us how achievable that target is.

International Travel

"Hypocritical": Locals baffled by Sydney Harbour fireworks display in the midst of catastrophic blaze conditions

Sydneysiders were left baffled by a 20 minute firework display in Sydney Harbour that took place in the midst of a total fire ban on Wednesday night. As wild bushfires and incredible winds have ravaged throughout New South Wales and Queensland within the past week, it is estimated the damage will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to repair, according to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/insurers-prepare-for-more-frequent-and-intense-bushfires-20191111-p539et" target="_blank">AFR.</a> The dangerous conditions from strong winds and extreme temperatures on Tuesday prompted a fire danger rating for the greater Sydney region for the first time ever. While total fire ban remained in place for all of New South Wales on Wednesday, there were still fireworks seen over the CBD at around 9.50pm. The display went on for over 20 minutes, with many locals taking to Twitter to label the fireworks as “hypocritical” and “insensitive”. “Seriously, total fire ban, nearly 10 pm in a school night and there are fireworks galore going off in Sydney. P**s poor effort,” one resident wrote. “One of my students told me his house almost burnt down yesterday,” another said. “Now there's fireworks exploding everywhere in Sydney. Seems a little insensitive, sending sparks everywhere at a time like this.” “How are fireworks allowed in Sydney on a day of total fire ban? Seems somewhat hypocritical given the tough stance that has been taken against individuals,” another local posted. Dozens of fires are still ablaze throughout the east of Australia. Firefighters are beyond stretched to their limits attempting to contain several of the out of control blazes. The largest active bushfire is the Liberation Trail bushfire just west of Coffs Harbour - covering more than 150,000 hectares with a circumference of 1,000 km. The NSW Rural Fire Services issued a statement that as of 10 pm on Wednesday, there were 69 fires burning across the state. 14 of those are at Watch and Act alert. “Over 1000 firefighters remain in the field to protect properties and establish containment lines ahead of worsening conditions later this week,” the statement read.

Domestic Travel

“As bad as it gets”: Catastrophic conditions forecast for NSW and QLD bushfires

With three people dying and 200 homes and sheds being lost to bushfires over the weekend in NSW and QLD, experts have warned that the worst is still yet to come. Firefighters are on the front-line battling blazes in both states, with residents in parts of Western Australia also being on high alert with “extreme fire danger” forecasted for the South Interior. There are also catastrophic conditions predicted for the Greater Sydney and the Greater Hunter areas tomorrow. Anthony Clark from the RFS has said that the situation would be “as bad as it gets”. “There’s a lot of hard work ahead of us, but the simple message is we’re not going to get on top of those fires before these really bad conditions hit on Tuesday,” Mr Clark said to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/nsw-and-qld-bushfires-worst-may-still-be-yet-to-come-with-catastrophic-conditions-forecast/news-story/705539262c371c80f4e00c4ab32b1979" target="_blank">news.com.au.</a> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> It's been a weekend of destruction and devastation across NSW in the midst of a bushfire emergency but this morning we're being warned the worst is yet to come. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/9News?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#9News</a> <a href="https://t.co/uiWr7IYpKR">pic.twitter.com/uiWr7IYpKR</a> — Nine News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) <a href="https://twitter.com/9NewsSyd/status/1193622471968116736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">10 November 2019</a></blockquote> Meteorologist Ben Domensino has said that a mass of hot air is moving to the east from Western Australia. “It is elevating fire danger ratings in South Australia and parts of Victoria today on Monday, then on Tuesday, the threat will shift and focus into NSW and Wednesday, it pushes further north,” he said. “So that’s why we’re seeing these danger ratings in South Australia elevated fire danger ratings across multiple states on multiple days. “The drought’s been widespread and in some places record breaking. “We have known this has been coming for months because we’ve had this dry weather leading up to the hottest time of year. “Now we’re seeing the winds increasing, the temperatures increasing, which are typical of this time of year. But we don’t normally have this much fuel. “We are seeing all of those conditions combined to create the perfect conditions for catastrophic fire danger ratings which is the highest rating on that scale and the first time it has been issued for Sydney.” It was a devastating weekend, with 200 homes and sheds lost in QLD and NSW and three people passing away due to the bushfires. There are still 61 fires burning in NSW and 51 fires still burning in Queensland. The RFS site has warned that those with a “catastrophic” rating that “leaving early is the only option”. “Leave bushfire prone areas the night before or early in the day – do not just wait and see what happens,” the RFS site says. “Homes are not designed to withstand fires in catastrophic conditions so you should leave early.” <ul> <li>For bushfire updates in NSW, go to the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/fire-information/fires-near-me" target="_blank">NSW RFS website</a>.</li> <li>For bushfire updates in QLD, go to the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.ruralfire.qld.gov.au/map/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">QLD RFS website</a>.</li> <li>For bushfire updates in Western Australia, go to the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.emergency.wa.gov.au/" target="_blank">Emergency WA website</a>. </li> </ul>

Travel Trouble

Catastrophic bushfires building across NSW and QLD destroy heritage-listed building

As out of control bushfires continue to ravage the Australian landscape in NSW and Queensland, one Heritage-listed building has fallen victim to the upcoming fire season. The heritage-listed Binna Burra Lodge, which was built in 1933 in Lamington National Park in the Gold Coast has been “fully destroyed”. “This fire has continued to show a mind of its own and early this morning it crept into the Binna Burra resort and there has been significant structural loss,” Scenic Rim mayor Greg Christensen told the <a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/a-mind-of-its-own-fire-rips-through-heritage-binna-burra-lodge-20190908-p52p3v.html">Brisbane Times</a>. Binna Burra Lodge chairman Steven Noakes fought back tears as he described the damage, the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-08/bushfire-destroys-binna-burra-lodge-gold-coast-hinterland/11489860">ABC</a> reports. “It’s a dark day in the 86-year history of Binna Burra. Fires have destroyed much of the heritage building facilities and some of our more contemporary buildings also,” he said. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B2K8KxMAuSp/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B2K8KxMAuSp/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">Hi all, we’re amazed by the outpouring of support and all of the photos and memories you are all sharing with us. Please use our hashtag #standwithbinnaburralodge so we can see all of your amazing photos and memories. We are all heartbroken and we would love to be warmed by hearing your stories and seeing your photos.</a> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/binnaburralodge/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> #Standwithbinnaburralodge</a> (@binnaburralodge) on Sep 8, 2019 at 5:49pm PDT </div> </blockquote> This was just one of the victims of the 51 bushfires that are tearing apart Queensland in what some are saying is the worst start to the fire season on record. More than 100 fires are also burning in rural New South Wales, with residents revealing that their homes were destroyed in a matter of minutes. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Assistant Commissioner Kevin Walsh told <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/wild-bushfires-still-blazing-in-qld-and-nsw-communities/news-story/a0e700d1b425498c4e05ba4e85adafbb">news.com.au</a> that the blazes were the worst he’s ever seen. “Firefighters stood side by side battling wind gusts of up to 90km/h,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything as bad as that.” Things aren’t looking good in NSW either, with the Rural Fire Service being concerned about two major fires in the state. Deputy Commissioner Rog Rogers said that the blaze near Bees Nest in Armidale and one on Long Gully Road, Drake near Tenterfield are of “major concern”. “The Armidale area is a huge area, it is more than 100km wide and is still burning actively, so it’s a major concern for us,” Rob said to <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/wild-bushfires-still-blazing-in-qld-and-nsw-communities/news-story/a0e700d1b425498c4e05ba4e85adafbb">news.com.au</a>. “We’re holding out for some spring rain, but it’s not looking good at all,” he said.

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