As wildfires continue to blaze across much of Australia’s landmass, the country is marshalling resources in large-scale efforts, the likes of which have not been seen since World War II, according to The New York Times. The scope of the fires, which burn across an area larger than Switzerland, have taxed local emergency management agencies at a municipal level, leading to a rollout of national forces. Even the Canberra Emergency Management Agency was shut down due to the smoke and air quality conditions, according to a report in CNN.
In order to combat the sheer size of the fires — which are expected to get worse as the fire season progresses, the military has been called in. “About 3,000 army reservists, along with aircraft and naval ships, are being made available to help with the evacuation and firefighting efforts,” reports The New York Times. “The government has not taken this decision lightly,” Defense Minister Linda Reynolds told The NYT. “It is the first time that reserves have been called out in this way in living memory.”
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/04/world/australia/fires-military.html
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/06/australia/australia-fires-capital-intl-hnk/index.html
