Fire in Central Australia

Over the past week, fires on the edge of Alice Springs at Undoolya and Ross River blazed. Sleepless nights and sheer courage kept them at bay. A haze of smoke rested across the town on more than one morning, and the acrid tang of burning permeated the air. For many, bushfires and summer are inseparable. 

In winter, fire is a source of comfort. It brings warmth and community, as people interact around campfires in the still desert nights. The embers glow like jewels as flames crackle in the grate or firepit. But come summer, the weather changes, and fires turn on us, racing across country in a searing path of destruction. Recent days brought them uncomfortably close to property and livestock.

Flickering flames in Central Australia (Photo credit: Tirza van Dijk)

Traditional owners maintained the land through fire for thousands of years. Today, firies commonly conduct backburning to rob the landscape of fuel. Recently, they established containment lines and launched aerial water bombing to manage the bushfires in Central Australia. Locals could see the aircraft flying high in the sky above the smoke.

Much is made of the resilience of fire-struck communities. It is not mere folklore to know that in the very real heat of a crisis people band together as they dig deep to survive.  The desert burns - and so does the spirit of its people. 

All across the region people are being put to the test. We are here for the start of summer. We will stay the path until it ends. The winds blow flames across the desert grasses, just as summer blows across the Central Desert. And in the red earth, another story of endurance is written.