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Letter 139

What to Read on Australia’s Bushfire Crisis

Our reporters have been on the ground documenting the disaster as it unfolded, whether interviewing evacuees or following firefighters.

A house burning in Lake Conjola, New South Wales, on New Year’s Eve.Credit...Matthew Abbott for The New York Times

The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau. Sign up to get it by email. This week’s issue is written by Isabella Kwai, a reporter with the Australia bureau.


Australians have started the new year anxious and alarmed with unprecedented bushfires engulfing parts of the country, causing thousands to flee the southeastern coast under blood-red skies.

But the fires have been blazing around Australia since September, killing at least 24 people and gutting an area larger than Denmark. Over 2,000 homes have been destroyed and conditions are expected to worsen this weekend, with months left to go in a fire season that seems to get longer every year.

Our reporters have been on the ground capturing the crisis as it unfolded, whether speaking with evacuees or analyzing why it happened — and telling readers how to help.

Here are some of the highlights of our coverage.

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A man in Lake Conjola tried to defend a property on New Year’s Eve as fire consumed the house next door.Credit...Matthew Abbott for The New York Times

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Relatives of Flight 752 crew members on Wednesday at Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv, Ukraine.Credit...Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

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Isabella Kwai is a breaking news reporter in the London bureau. She joined The Times in 2017 as part of the Australia bureau. More about Isabella Kwai

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