Survivors of the Firestorm (DVD)

On February 7, 2009, drought and a record-breaking heat wave in the Australian state of Victoria came together to create a perfect storm – a firestorm of epic proportions. High winds turned four hundred separate bushfires into raging fire fronts that trapped animals and people unable to outrun them. One hundred seventy three people died. Entire towns were wiped off the map. More than a million acres of forest burned and countless animals perished. It was one of the worst natural disasters ever to hit Australia, a day that came to be known as “Black Saturday.” Yet fires are a natural process, necessary for ecosystems to regenerate. After the devastation, some wildlife springs back on its own; some does not. Those not so lucky need all the help they can get. Burned and traumatized kangaroos and koalas, wombats and wallabies, endangered possums and gliders, lizards, echidnas, birds of all kinds, and even fish rely upon volunteers and vets to tenderly nurse them back to health at wildlife hospitals and private facilities. It’s a story of renewal, hope and inspiration.