Sydney, Australia, has put a Christmas tree made of charred branches and other bushfire debris in the city's central business district, to remind passers-by of the deadly fires that swept through large areas of Australia.
According to Reuters, the tree is made and decorated with burnt logs, a scorched bicycle, a ruined fire alarm and other destroyed household goods, surrounded by gifts wrapped in glittery red, silver and gold paper.
On his part, Artist James Dive said the tree was a symbol of the shadow the disaster has cast over the festive season as well as the resilience of Australian communities.
Earlier fires have killed six people in New South Wales, of which Sydney is the capital, destroyed more than 700 homes destroyed and ravaged nearly 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) of land. Authorities noted Wednesday that 99 fires were still burning.
This morning, a seven-day state of emergency was declared in the country's most populated region as the country saw its all-time temperature record broken again. The emergency was the second declared in the state since the bushfire season began early in September, was due to "catastrophic weather conditions".
About 100 fires have been burning for weeks in drought-plagued New South Wales (NSW) with half of them uncontained, including a "mega-blaze" ringing Sydney, covering Australia’s biggest city in a haze of toxic smoke.
Temperatures are expected to near 50 degrees celsius in South Australia and peak at 45 degrees in the western suburbs of Sydney, while turbulent winds of up to 60 miles an hour are expected to fan bushfires burning ever-closer to the city.
Follow the latest news on Google News
