The experience of Aboriginal peoples in the fire crisis is vastly different to non-Indigenous peoples. Colonial legacies of eradication, dispossession, assimilation and racism continue to impact the lived realities of Aboriginal peoples. These factors compound the trauma of these fires.
Fires push 20 species closer to extinction
It's miraculous: owners say cultural burning saved their property
Three weeks ago, Phil Sheppard and other owners were forced to evacuate their property, helplessly watching online as the Gospers Mountain fire converged with the Little L Complex fire and appeared to engulf the property. To his amazement, when he returned two days later, traversing the long gravel driveway on foot after fallen trees blocked vehicle access, most structures remained perfectly intact. Owners say the property was saved by the traditional Indigenous technique of cultural burning conducted on their land three years ago.