Footage of Australian fire crew overwhelmed by flames

Dozens are likely dead in Australia, which is beset by uncontrolled wildfires. Experts believe a third of the koala population on the continent's east coast is already wiped out, and there's no end in sight. Residents are fleeing to the beaches to escape the flames. In the video embedded here from New South Wales Fire + Rescue, a crew sits in their truck, unable to do anything to fight the the blaze as it tears throught the forest toward them, then around them, then away from them.

Here's (NSFW) footage from Tyson Whelan, which he says he took at 10:30 a.m. in Mallacoota, Victoria:

How bad are the #AustralianFires? Absolutey fucked.

video;cubin on fb #mallacoota pic.twitter.com/cDKjjK2m7U

— rbm (@doc_ryan) December 31, 2019

Australia's government appears unmoved. Here's the Prime Minister, talking earlier in wildfire season, about why there would be no change in policy toward carbon emissions: What we wont do is engage in reckless and job-destroying and economy-crunching targets which are being sought."

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