• Oceania: Australian Prime Minister apologizes after going on vacation to Hawaii while fires devour the country

Harvey - a pacifier and a miniature uniform - looks closely at that man who carefully puts a medal on his shirt. A medal that was to be for his father, Geoffrey Keaton, one of the firefighters killed in the extinction of the fires that devour Australia since September. It is the last tribute of the fire department to one of the heroes who tried to stop the advance of the flames. A thank you to your bravery.

In the image, Shane Fitzsimmons, chief of the firefighters of the state of New South Wales, knees down to be up to the child, an orphan since last December 19. Everything happens at the funeral of his father, Geoffrey, who died when a tree fell on his van while fighting fires in Green Wattle Creek, south of Sydney. The accident also killed another firefighter, Andrew O'Dwyer, 36, whose funeral will take place next week.

Keaton's coffin reached the Pinegrove cemetery in Minchinbury (west of Sydney) accompanied by a procession of several fire engines that, after Mass in memory of the deceased companion, returned to work to continue putting out the fire.

The fires that devastate Australia have killed eight people in 48 hours and reduced hundreds of hectares of forest to ashes on the first day of 2020.

Unprecedented evacuations

The fire service has asked tourists to leave two coastal areas about 300 kilometers long before the arrival of a new heat wave that will fan the progression of active fires.

Since September - the month that marks the beginning of the fire season - at least 18 people have died . There are, in addition, 17 other missing persons, with which the death toll could increase.

Many tourists spent two isolated nights in areas without electricity and communications and with few food reserves. The authorities have guaranteed the safety of some roads precisely to evacuate them. Thousands of people began to leave the affected area and this Thursday there was a long line of cars on the road leading to Sydney.

The deputy director of the state fire service, Rob Rogers, added that firefighters are not able to put out or control active fires.

" There are so many fires in this area that we cannot contain them, " he told ABC. "We have to make sure there is no one left in their path."

A navy ship arrived Thursday in the coastal city of Mallacoota, where many people took refuge for hours on the beach to escape the flames that reached the town.

Since the beginning of the fire season, more than 1,300 houses have been reduced to ashes and 5.5 million hectares have burned, that is, an area larger than a country like Denmark or the Netherlands.

This unprecedented crisis has led to demonstrations that ask the government for immediate measures against global warming that, according to scientists, is responsible for making fires last longer and more fierce than ever.

Many of the criticisms are directed against Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has reiterated his support for the lucrative but highly polluting Australian coal industry .

This Thursday, Morrison gave his first press conference since the fires gained in intensity, and assured that the authorities deploy "absolutely all efforts" to help the population.

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  • Australia
  • Fires

Oceania Australia orders more evacuations for the fires that have already caused 17 deaths

Oceania Australia's Prime Minister apologizes after going on vacation to Hawaii while fires devour the country

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