Today in good news: Baby koalas can be spotted on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Following the historic wildfires that ravaged millions of acres of Australian bushland in 2020, Kangaroo Islandâs renewal is the hopeful story we all need right now. share this article In early January 2020, a year ago and a world away, Australia was ablaze. Wildfires come as frequently to the Australian bush as they do to Californiaâs hills, but this year was different. About 42 million acres (17 million hectares) of rural Australia had gone up in flames, from hardest-hit New South Wales, where smoke made its way to coastal Sydney, down to Tasmania and across to Western Australia. Per the