California has seen a strong heatwave in the year 2020 and it led to a series of wildfires starting in August, some of which are ongoing. As husband, Joe, and two sons were trapped in the wildfire, wife and mother, Lisa Ebright, awaited their safe return. The family was happily reunited as the boys were evacuated from the location unharmed.

A Mother’s Prayers Were Answered

While Joe and his two sons, Dominic and David, were out camping on their annual Labor Day trip that had become a sort of family tradition, they were trapped in the area by the Creek Fire. When they first got word of the wildfires spreading in their direction, Joe said that it was already getting late and no smoke could be seen in the surrounding areas. They decided to go to sleep and leave in the morning. In the meantime, the wildfires raged throughout the night and come morning, the family found that the area they were in was surrounded by thick smoke. Joe said to the reporters that, at that time, they didn’t know exactly how big the fire was nor its exact location. As the evacuation efforts began, the boys claimed that their spirits were kept up by the resort community that they were with, as there were prayers, food, and a lot of support.

California Wildfires Rage On

Because they had no way of communicating during that crucial period, Lisa was up all night awaiting their return. Luckily, this family’s story ends happily with a heartfelt reunion that was reported by the news. However, the California wildfires are ongoing and millions of acres of land have already fallen victim to this catastrophe. The Creek Fire that expanded in the Big Creek drainage area temporarily trapped hundreds of campers near the Mammoth Pool Reservoirs. Joe explained that he was concerned about what his wife, Lisa, must be going through, waiting for their return without a way to communicate with them. He also said that they could only grasp the severity of the wildfires once they were back home, seeing news reports and how the situation was affecting numerous families.

Daintree Rainforest is one of the topmost tourist attractions of Australia. Bordering the Great Barrier Reef, this ancient rainforest is sprawled across 600 square miles of area. Thanks to several rivers, gorges, waterfalls, and a long stretch of white sandy beaches, the forested national park is breathtakingly beautiful. Recently, the Australian Government has decided to hand over the area to the indigenous people, who have been the traditional residents of this area for generations.

The Announcement

The Queensland Ministry officials recently made the historic announcement to return the Daintree National Park to the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people, who are the aboriginal owners of the region. They are also one of the oldest living cultures in the world. After a 4-year long negotiation, the agreement was settled. It said that the UNESCO World Heritage Area Daintree National Park will eventually be solely managed by the Eastern Kuku Yalanji, protecting their culture.

The Agreement

Initially, the agreement transfers the managing right for Daintree’s 160 k hectares land, along with the Ngalba-bulal, Kalkajaka, and the Hope Islands National Parks. The additional three national parks are to be managed jointly with the Queensland Government. The total amount of retuned land is summed up to more than 3.8 million hectares, with 2.3 million hectares to be managed jointly by the community with the Government rangers. According to Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon, the momentous agreement is resulted in a total of 32 native-owned and jointly managed national parks on the entire Cape York Peninsula.

The Vision

Minister Scanlon explains that this handing-back agreement honors the right of owning and managing their own land of the traditional Cape York inhabitants, enabling them to freely practice and protect their own cultural heritage. The Government is also going to provide economic and technical aids to enrich the indigenous community in land and sea management, tourism, and research, in order to create more employment opportunities for them, making them the future leader of the Australian hospitality industry.