PHOTOS: Koalas, Tennis Players Grapple with Australian Heat Wave

membership ticker

Right now is no time to come up short.

It's time to fight like hell for a democracy where minority rule cannot impose an extreme and cruel agenda, where the Big Lie is called a Big Lie, where facts matter, and where accountability at the polls and in the press has a fighting chance. We have our work cut out for us, and we urgently need to raise about 400,000 by Thursday, June 30, to finish our fiscal year on track and give it everything we possibly can. Please help us get there with a donation if you can right now.

$1,150,000

$1,350,000

Right now is no time to come up short. It's time to fight like hell for a democracy where minority rule cannot impose an extreme and cruel agenda, where facts matter, and where accountability at the polls and in the press has a fighting chance. We have our work cut out for us, and we still need to raise upwards of 400,000 by June 30 to give it everything we can. Please help:

Parts of Australia are in the midst of a massive heat wave, straining resources and sparking fires. Matches had to be suspended at the Australian Open in Melbourne, where temperatures hit 109 degrees Fahrenheit. Here are photos showing the toll this extreme heat has taken on the country’s forests, animals, and visiting tennis stars.

A fire-fighting helicopter extinguishes a fire burning throughout Victoria’s Grampians region. Country Fire Authority/ZUMA

As wildlife struggles with heat, thoughtful SA residents coming to aid http://t.co/Wvu3nJDiwa #heatwave pic.twitter.com/nGkGFqVbYn

— 7News Yahoo!7 (@Y7News) January 17, 2014

There’s a heatwave in Melbourne right now and the zoo lions are being fed frozen blood. http://t.co/blZF3y1Gyr pic.twitter.com/3QxX2VeGbK

— Meredith Frost (@MeredithFrost) January 17, 2014

Fans cool off in a fountain outside the Rod Laver Arena on day five of the Australian Open. Jason O’Brien/ZUMA

108 degrees. And they’re supposed to play tennis in that heat? http://t.co/vDXTV1dSi7 pic.twitter.com/OUnO6AguQD

— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) January 14, 2014

Australian Open: Frank Dancevic collapses in ‘inhumane’ heat http://t.co/h8x3ugmyH3 pic.twitter.com/0lVmhYgCuV

— Hamilton Spectator (@TheSpec) January 14, 2014

Despite the heat, Serena Williams set a tournament record by winning her 61st Australian Open match. Ken Hawkins/ZUMA

That’s how hot it was. Thank you everybody for being so persistent and passionate about our sport. @ AustralianOpen pic.twitter.com/pc7hAUbHQm

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) January 17, 2014