Here’s just one more reason to love Pink! The superstar has pledged to donate $500,000 to help aid local fire services in Australia.
By Heather Newgen
The wildfires in Australia have been raging for months now, claiming at least 23 lives according to CNN, killing half a billion animals, including koalas, birds and reptiles, burning 11 million acres and destroying more than 1,500 homes.
“I am totally devastated watching what is happening in Australia right now with the horrific bushfires,” Pink, 40, captioned her Instagram post. “I am pledging a donation of $500,000 directly to the local fire services that are battling so hard on the frontlines. My heart goes out to our friends and family in Oz ❤️.”
Pink is also encouraging others to make donations and posted links to local organizations.
The fires, which have been burning since September, have forced entire towns to evacuate, in one of the worst fire seasons in Australia’s history. Firefighters are working tirelessly to combat the out of control fires, but there’s no end in sight.
Currently, three fires have combined into a single blaze that’s the size of Manhattan, NYC. Firefighters from the U.S. have now been called on for additional help for the first time since 2010.
The fires joined overnight in the Omeo region in Victoria state, creating a 6,000-hectare (23 square mile) blaze, according to Gippsland’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
In addition, a fire in the Wollondilly region south of the capital Sydney, which is the neighboring New South Wales state, remains “out of control,” according to the Rural Fire Service. It has burned 264,000 hectares (1,020 square miles) of land in recent months.
Victoria has declared a state of disaster and NSW has declared a state of emergency.
Other organizations to donate to include the Australian Red Cross, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, which set up specific funds for the families of two firefighters and the Salvation Army Australia, which is providing food and shelter to people who had to evacuate, as well as front-line responders.
To help wildlife, consider WIRES, an Australian wildlife rescue nonprofit and the Port Macquarie Koala Hospita