Australian Devastation – Map of Spreading Wildfire Started by Arson

January 7, 2020

Catherine Bleish

This viral image of the Australia wildfires juxtaposed with the map of the United States really puts into perspective the scale of the destruction taking place.

There have been nearly 200 people arrested for deliberate arson according to Australian authorities. So far over 2,000 homes have been destroyed and killed 25 people. Over 13 million acres have burned so far, and there is not an end in sight. There is no way to know how many animals have been affected, but both wild and domestic animals are definitely suffering.

An Epidemic of Wildfires

Most fires are started by humans either on purpose or by accident, and most art started by people aged 12 to 24. Surprisingly, they think around 10% of those who light fires are actually under the age of 10. This underscores a great need for fire education in Australian culture.

“About 85 percent are related to human activity, 13 percent confirmed arson and 37 percent suspected arson,” he said. “The remainder are usually due to reckless fire lighting or even just children playing with fire.”

Current regulations can result in fines of $5500 for starting a fire, a year in prison for lighting a tobacco product near flammable fields or stacks of produce, and even as many as 25 years in prison if the fire was started with the intention to damage property.

In this video you can see a dehydrated koala climbing up to a bicyclist to get water. The koala was waiting in the road as the cyclists approached, and climbed up a bicycle to take a drink from their water bottle.