Pink Donates $500,000 to Australia’s Fire Fighters as Devastating Bushfires Rage On

Pink Donates $500,000 to Australia’s Fire Fighters as Devastating Bushfires Rage On
US singer/songwriter Pink poses with the Peoples Champion Award during the 45th annual E! People's Choice Awards at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, on Nov. 10, 2019. (VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)
Katabella Roberts
1/4/2020
Updated:
1/4/2020

Pink has donated $500,000 to fire services in Australia as devastating bushfires continue to rage out of control.

The American singer announced her contribution on Twitter on Jan. 5, where she also shared a list of local fire stations alongside links to their donation pages.

“I am totally devastated watching what is happening in Australia right now with the horrific bushfires,” the actress, 40, wrote.

“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 the latest among a number of celebrities who have pledged to donate funds for firefighters tackling the wildfires throughout Australia.

Selena Gomez, 27, also told her 164 Instagram million followers that she would be making a donation but did not elaborate further.

“Absolutely devastated by the fires in Australia,” she wrote. “Praying for everyone affected and all of the first responders. I’m making a donation and would love if you would consider doing the same if you can.”

Australian Actress and comedian, Celeste Barber, led an online campaign to raise money for volunteer firefighters, which has raised more than $18 million in just a few days.

So far, 496,000 people from around the world have pledged millions of dollars to the NSW Rural Fire Service after Barber pleaded for donations on Facebook, writing: “Please help anyway you can. This is terrifying.”

This timed-exposure image shows firefighters hosing down trees as they battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra in the Australian state of New South Wales on Dec. 31, 2019. (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)
This timed-exposure image shows firefighters hosing down trees as they battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra in the Australian state of New South Wales on Dec. 31, 2019. (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)
This picture taken on Dec. 31, 2019 shows a kangaroo trying to move away from nearby bushfires at a residential property near the town of Nowra in the Australian state of New South Wales. Fire-ravaged Australia has launched a major operation to reach thousands of people stranded in seaside towns after deadly bushfires ripped through popular tourist areas on New Year's Eve. (SAEED KHAN / AFP) (Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
This picture taken on Dec. 31, 2019 shows a kangaroo trying to move away from nearby bushfires at a residential property near the town of Nowra in the Australian state of New South Wales. Fire-ravaged Australia has launched a major operation to reach thousands of people stranded in seaside towns after deadly bushfires ripped through popular tourist areas on New Year's Eve. (SAEED KHAN / AFP) (Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Australian actor Russell Crowe has also donated to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service and in November, he revealed that the fires had hit his own home in the country, according to USA Today.
“I’m not in Australia, my family are safe, billeted with friends. Fire hit my place late in the day yesterday. My heart goes out to everyone in the valley,” he wrote on Twitter.

NSW has lost three volunteer firefighters, including on Dec. 30, 2019 when the truck of an expecting father he was overturned by strong winds and crashed at Jingellic, about 110 kilometers (68 miles) east of Albury.

Authorities named him as 28-year-old Samuel McPaul. He would have been a father in May with his wife, Megan, whom he married last year.

The wildfires have claimed the lives of 23 people since they began in September. Of the deaths, eight were confirmed since Dec. 30.

Smoke billows during bushfires in Bairnsdale, a city in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, Dec. 30, 2019. (Glen Morey/Social Media/via Reuters)
Smoke billows during bushfires in Bairnsdale, a city in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, Dec. 30, 2019. (Glen Morey/Social Media/via Reuters)
Smoke billows during bushfires in Buchan, a town in the east Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia, on Dec. 30, 2019. (Glen Morey/Social Media/via Reuters)
Smoke billows during bushfires in Buchan, a town in the east Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia, on Dec. 30, 2019. (Glen Morey/Social Media/via Reuters)

Meanwhile, more than 1,500 homes have been destroyed and over 5 million hectares (13 million acres) of land has been burnt across the country.

More than 130 fires were still burning in NSW on Saturday, with about 60 of those still not contained by firefighters and posing a risk to lives.

In Victoria, evacuation recommendations were made for six fires, emergency warnings for 11 others, with dozens more still burning on Sunday.