As firefighters and ordinary residents toil at the black-red coalface of NSW's bushfire crisis, their story of heroism and anguish is being told to the world.
Since the disaster began unfolding late last week, more than 11,000 photos of the fires have been uploaded to Instagram. From apocalyptic-looking smoke above
the Blue Mountains to charred tree stumps and the blackened ruins of hundreds of homes.
Traumatised koalas and wallabies. Haunted human faces emerging from the soot. And the legions of Rural Fire Service volunteers, ready, resolute and unmissable in their bright orange garb. It's all been documented on social media, instantly, globally, powerfully.
One image of firefighting brothers Josh and Matt Jones-Power lying on the roadside has been seen by 3.7 million people on Facebook. Fire crackles nearby as the pair serving with Wallarah RFS apparently grab a short nap. The picture, by Phil Hearne of the Newcastle Herald, has elicited 4300 messages of support and admiration from around the world.
Another fiery image posted to Facebook by NSW Incident Alerts with the text "We Say Thank You" has been shared more than 7000 times. "Amazing firefighters - gutted to see the news here in the UK," one user commented.
