Bushfires In The Whitsundays
During the summer of 2019, the southern parts of Australia experienced horrific bushfires. Many people asked if the Whitsundays was affected by these fires. Thankfully, the answer is no. The skies were clear, with no smoke to be seen, and the weather was as usual during that time of year. As summer falls into wet season in the Whitsundays, it meant that the summer rain brings out the greening of the islands and our local creeks and waterfalls were flowing.
Bushfires in the Whitsundays
The world media showed that the whole of Australia was on fire. That was not the case, even though there was no denying that fires ripped through forests in New South Wales and Victoria in one of the largest bushfire crisis' the world had ever seen. The southern forests are dry and in summer are particularly vulnerable to bushfires. Here in Queensland, we were spared the worst of the forest fires due to our proximity to the tropics and a wetter climate in general.
Australia is a very big place and our landmass is around the size of Europe or the same width and breadth as the USA. An estimated 85% of Australians live within 40 Kilometres of the coast. There is quite a bit of space between the Whitsundays and the affected areas down south.
If you are driving Between Brisbane and the Whitsundays, you will travel along one thousand kilometres of countryside and coastline with all roads open and the perfect weather for swimming and relaxing. Most days are a tropical 30 degrees plus with evening temperatures around a balmy 20 degrees Celsius. Water temperature at this time of year is between 26 and 28 deg Celsius.
It’s a fantastic time to visit the islands as not only is the weather great for swimming and snorkelling, it is also a great time to visit cedar creek falls in Airlie beach. Cedars Creek Falls is one of the jewels of the Whitsunday area and generally only flows in summer. If you are worried about a trip to the Whitsunday islands in 2020 being affected by bush fires, you have very little to worry about. All of Northern Queensland falls in what is known as the wet tropics, this means that bushfire events in summer are extremely rare, if not unheard of.
Fortunately, here in the Whitsundays, the local national park authority follows the traditional indigenous methods of hazard burn reduction fires in winter. This has the benefit of reducing fuel loads on the ground and makes the islands green and able to withstand lightning strikes that may otherwise cause a bush fire. For more information on controlled burns in the Whitsundays, refer to this article. If you're planning a trip down under, make your way to the Whitsundays and enjoy a holiday in a tropical destination like no other.
How to help during an Australian bushfire crisis
There over 100,000 people involved as paid and volunteer firefighters in Australia, and volunteers around the world fly to Australia to help out during bushfire crisis'. The summer of 2020 proved to be one of the worst years of bushfires on record.
If you would like to donate, volunteer firefighting organisations, blood banks, and wildlife rescue need the funds the most to help with bushfire outbreaks as well as support the devastation to communities and eco-systems. Here’s where you can donate, with your money being spent the most wisely:
Australian Red Cross
Firefighters - NSW Rural Fire Service
Firefighters - Victoria CFA
World Wildlife Fund
Thank you for supporting tourism in Australia.
