A woman in New South Wales has shared an image of her father catching a few minutes sleep in the front garden of their family home after becoming exhausted from fighting the fires raging across Australia.
Jenna O'Keeffe shared the picture of her dad outside their farm in Conjola on Facebook and explained that he had spent the previous 10 days fighting the devastating bushfires in 12 hour shifts alongside hundreds of other volunteer firefighters.
Jenna wrote: "This is a picture of my dad getting 5 mins sleep on our front lawn, while my brother keeps watch over the fire burning at the top of our farm after he finished his 10th 12 hr+ day in a row fighting voluntarily in the community with the RFS NSW.
"My family have been fighting these fires on our farm and our community nonstop for over a month. They are tired, they are sore, and they are running out of resources.
"Today I heard my dad cry, he said 'Jen I have never seen anything like this, it's never ending'. We still have over 50 days of summer left we aren't even halfway and there is currently no end in sight."
The fires have devastated large swathes of land and property across Australia, killing more than 20 people and countless animals in the process.
Jenna continued: "Please don't become numb to what's happening. Don't get caught up in the negativity, the politics, the Facebook news, the drama!
"Australia is on fire and there are brave people all over the country VOLUNTARILY fighting day in, day out to keep our lives and homes safe.
"These firefighters need our support more than ever! This should be our one and only focus.
"To all of the people helping directly and indirectly around the country, thank you! To everyone else, don't forget to donate what you can to your charity of choice, every little bit will help! This is far from over!
"To my family, I cannot express how proud I am of you all! I love you and am forever thankful."
These bushfires are among the worst that have ever been seen in Australia. Emergency Services have been quickly overwhelmed by the sheer scale and ferocity of the blazes.
It is thought that around half a billion animals have also been lost to the flames.
Science for Wildlife executive director Dr Kellie Leigh told the New South Wales upper house inquiry: "We're getting a lot of lessons out of this and it's just showing how unprepared we are.
"There's no procedures or protocols in place - even wildlife carers don't have protocols for when they can go in after fire."
Featured Image Credit: FacebookTopics: World News, Animals, Australia