mikulas1/iStock(SYDNEY, Australia) — The 2020 Golden Globes on Sunday were missing two important guests Sunday night, Christian Bale — who fell ill — and Russell Crowe, who wanted to stay in Australia to battle against the devastating wildfires currently consuming the country.
Crowe wound up winning Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture for TV for his work in The Loudest Voice.
The New Zealand-native later posted a heartfelt thank you to his Twitter, writing “What a cast I got to work with. Naomi Watts, @WallisAnnabelle Sienna Miller, Aleksa Palladino @JoshStamberg @SethMacFarlane Simon McBurney and everybody else. They created a complete world. Their commitment, sensitivity and courage was inspiring.”
However, he enclosed a video showing that there’s no time to celebrate his win due to the rapidly approaching brushfires. “We keep this truck ready and prepared in case things get crazy,” he calmly explained while walking the audience through everything he had on hand to combat the oncoming blaze.
“It’s got a thousand-liter water cube on it, it’s got a water tank,” the Oscar winner continues as the strong wind nearly muffles his words as he runs through everything the NSW Rural Fire Service has on hand, “It’s an old Ford F-150, we got a couple of bins there with dirt in it… shovels for spark fires.”
Crowe then focuses on the supplies stowed away inside the truck, “spare hoses, fire blankets, gloves, respirators, and all the stuff you need for fighting fires.”
The wildfires, which began in September, have burned more than 22,393 square miles of land and destroyed more than 1,630 homes, according to the Australian Department of Home Affairs.
At least 24 people have died, and ecologists from the University of Sydney estimate that about half a billion animals have been killed.
Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.