Dispatches from the age of fire

In 2019–2020, fires ravaged large areas of Australia devastating land, infrastructure and human and non-human lives. While Australia has a history of fires and fire management, large regions of the eastern states were devastated by super fires fueled by their own weather, and changes to the climate. However, Australian governments, political and business leaders continue to invest in fossil fuels and disregard the impact of the climate crisis. Meanwhile, the nation is at a tipping point due to the effects of global heating, extreme weather events, natural disasters and biodiversity loss. This article explores the climate crisis through a discussion of first-hand accounts of people directly affected by the 2019–2020 bushfires in Australia. These harrowing and philosophical accounts of the fires were gleaned from poetry, videos, websites and non-fiction sources and demonstrate the human lived experiences of the climate crisis and how we can move forward for climate justice.