Australian bushfires: Fire service uses New York City's Times Square billboard to thank volunteer members
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service wanted to thank those who helped tackle the blazes in the "biggest way possible".
Wednesday 19 February 2020 21:07, UK
A fire service has used a 21m (70ft) billboard in New York City's Times Square to say thank you in the "biggest way possible" to those who helped tackle the deadly Australian bushfires.
The billboard read: "Thank you to the brave Australian and US firefighters defending Australia and to the world for all your support."
The southern hemisphere country has been battling hundreds of blazes since last September, which have killed 33 people, an estimated one billion native animals and destroyed thousands of homes.
The New South Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service, which claims to be the world's largest fire service, says the bushfire season has been one of its "most challenging in its history".
Its 74,000 volunteer members provide emergency services to more than 95% of New South Wales, Australia's most populous state.
In a tweet, it said: "We wanted to say a big 'thank you' to all the firefighters who have worked so hard over the last few months, and to the community for its support.
"And when we say big, we mean big - 70ft tall in Times Square, New York."
The ad space was donated by the company which owns it.
Experts claim an unusually prolonged summer wildfire season was fuelled by three years of drought, which they have attributed to climate change.
Authorities say the bushfires have now been contained for the first time in nearly six months.
Heavy rains helped in the fight to put them out, and boosted some dam levels to their highest in nearly two years.
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But the current situation is a far cry from the peak of the crisis in early January when NSW firefighters were battling almost 150 fires that raged across an area of around 3,700 miles (6,000km) long.
The blazes sparked a global outpouring of sympathy and donations.
And celebrities and Australian stars including Kylie Minogue, Chris Hemsworth, Margot Robbie and Nicole Kidman, donated millions of dollars.
At their worst, the fires prompted mass evacuations of both locals and tourists under apocalyptic-like red skies during Australia's peak summer holiday period.
With little rain for three years, some parts of NSW had less than a year's worth of drinking water left, forcing some authorities to begin to truck in expensive fresh water from other parts of the country.
But last week, officials said nearly 16 inches of rain fell in the Sydney and surrounding areas.
Further rains were also predicted for the coming days.