Australian officials are dropping food for animals that are endangered after wildfires hit large areas of New South Wales.

National park staff use helicopters to drop thousands of pounds of carrots and sweet potatoes to save starving wallabies, possums and koala bears. There animals have fled their natural habitats due to the fires, and they are in danger of starving to death.

There are many volunteers working tirelessly to treat injured animals for burns and smoke inhalation.

The fires have had a devastating impact on Australia¢¥s wildfire, killing over a billion animals. Since October, the fires have scorched more than 25 million acres of land and have killed 28 people.

High temperatures and gusty winds spread the flames; however, last week the weather started to settle down, which enabled firefighters to get in front of the fire.

Difficult words: flee (to run away from a place or situation that is dangerous), scorch (to burn the surface of something with flame or heat), gusty winds (sudden strong winds), to get in front (to get control of a situation).