14 Photos That Capture The Devastation And The Courage Of South Australia

    The start of 2015 saw South Australia get bombarded with bushfires, with volunteer and rural fire services in full swing to combat the blaze.

    Brad Esposito
    by Brad Esposito

    BuzzFeed News Reporter, Australia

    1. On January 2nd a bushfire broke out in the South Australian suburb of Sampson Flat – destroying dozens of homes and spreading over a 283km perimeter.

    BRENTON EDWARDS / AFP

    2. Seven hundred South Australian firefighters were called upon, with reinforcements arriving from NSW on Monday 5th of January. A large volunteer department also helped to fight the blazes.

    AAPIMAGE DAVID MARIUZ

    Fireman at the One Tree Hill staging area as fires continue to burn through the Adelaide Hills, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015.

    3. The bushfires were the worst South Australia has seen in more than three decades, dating back to the 1983 Ash Wednesday II bushfires.

    AFP / Getty Images BRENTON EDWARDS

    A bushfire burns through scrub near Gumeracha in the Adelaide Hills. More than 30 homes are feared destroyed.

    4.

    AFP / Getty Images BRENTON EDWARDS

    5. For a short time, rain fell.

    AFP / Getty Images BRENTON EDWARDS

    A Country Fire Service volunteer reacts as rain starts to fall near One Tree Hill in the Adelaide Hills, northeast of Adelaide.

    6. And after the first of the fires were put out, the devastation lay bare.

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    7.

    DAVID MARIUZ / AAP Image

    Burnt out areas near Humbug scrub as fires continue to burn through the Adelaide Hills, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015.

    8.

    AAPIMAGE DAVID MARIUZ

    Burnt out shed in Kersbrook as fires continue to burn through the Adelaide Hills, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015.

    9. Roads were blocked while residents waited to be allowed back into their property.

    RUSSELL MILLARD / AAP Image

    Kersbrook resident David Miller and his dog Zeus wait for road blocks to be lifted around his property in the Adelaide Hills, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015

    10. With the fire bringing down trees...

    RUSSELL MILLARD / AAP Image

    Farmer Sam Randell checks bushfire damage on his Gumeracha, Adelaide Hills property on Sunday, Jan. 04. 2015. Fires have swept across the hills destroying property and farmland.

    11. And large areas almost entirely burnt out.

    DAVID MARIUZ / AAP Image

    Keith Freegard checks on his property in Kersbrook as fires continue to burn through the Adelaide Hills, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015.

    12.

    DAVID MARIUZ / AAP Image

    A property owner in car looks over burnt out areas in Kersbrook as fires continue to burn through the Adelaide Hills, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015.

    13. Afterwards, local communities banded together to thank the hard working firefighters, ahead of a continued forecast of strong winds paired with a heatwave.

    AFP / Getty Images BRENTON EDWARDS

    14. In the meantime, a nation prays for rain and the end of the fast-spreading fire.

    AFP / Getty Images BRENTON EDWARDS