Is Australia About to See the “Gates of Hell”... Again?

(Photo : Reuters)
This bushfire has been considered as the worst in the country.

The conditions on bushfires in Australia have reached its peak on Tuesday, but the experts said the worst was yet to come. According to them, the event could trigger pyro-cumulonimbus, or also known as firestorm, and nothing could stop it once it reached the land.

According to officials, the fire-driven clouds had started to form after the fire intensifies on Friday, and they feared that it had escalated on Tuesday, which thankfully did not happen.

What is a firestorm?

A firestorm is a group of giant, fast-moving bushfires that can create its weather system due to its ferocity. It happens whenever a fire rises and air fills the empty spaces it leaves behind.

Bushfires usually come with the wind. But sometimes, the blaze is too strong that the plume rises instead. And since it contains heat and moisture, it forms clouds once it hits the stratosphere.

Fire expert Jason Sharples, who is also a professor at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), described pyro-cumulonimbus as a "thunderstorm within the plume of fire".

Since it is a storm, it can also shoot lightning but it will not create rain. Instead, it will suck fires and send embers in every direction, said Prof. Jason Evans, a climate scientist from UNSW.

According to the fire officials in New South Wales, embers were landing at least three times farther than the usual distance on Tuesday.

Can you do something about it? Prof. Evans said no. It is uncontrollable and the only thing you can do is move out and wait for it to end, he also added.

Prof. Sharples, on the other hand, claimed that the only way to stop it is through preventive measures that should be started at least five years before it starts. 

The Gates of Hell

Although it is rare, its occurrence has become more frequent in recent years. Since 2001, there were at least 60 firestorms recorded in Australia, including the bushfire that killed 173 people in the 2009 Black Saturday.

Although it was extremely hot, it all started as another ordinary day, said Tony Thomas, who was among the survivors of the deadliest bushfire event in Australia. He was having a pleasant birthday lunch with his wife and in-laws when they spotted smoke in the west.

This was the start of the disaster. Suddenly, fires were everywhere. 

Thomas described the scene as it is was the "gates of hell" because everything turned to dark swiftly as the huge smoke blocks the sun.

Through his blog, fire veteran David Baetge recalled how swiftly the fire spread. Due to his firefighting experience, he chose to stay at his barn to help contain the fire and it almost costs his own life.

In March this year, a firestorm appeared in Victoria, the same state where the deadliest firestorm occurred.

The likelihood of the firestorm to form is increased by drought, which happens a lot recently due to climate change. And with that, scientists fear that it will occur more frequently.

READ: Australia Now in State of Emergency Due to "Catastrophic" Wildfires in New South Wales