Devastating bushfires in Australia claim 12 lives, destroy 10 million acres

A view shows light and smoke from wild bushfires in Mallacoota. Picture: George Mills/Social Media via Reuters

A view shows light and smoke from wild bushfires in Mallacoota. Picture: George Mills/Social Media via Reuters

Published Jan 1, 2020

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Sydney - A third person was confirmed dead

on Wednesday in devastating bushfires that engulfed Australia's

southeast coast this week and a fourth was missing and feared

dead, as navy ships rushed to provide supplies and assist with

evacuations.

Twelve people have now lost their lives in fire-related

deaths across Australia since blazes broke out a few months ago,

including three volunteer firefighters, after a three-year

drought in large parts of the nation created tinder-dry

conditions.

Fanned by soaring temperatures, columns of fire and smoke

blackened entire towns on Monday and Tuesday, forcing thousands

of residents and holidaymakers to seek shelter on beaches. Many

stood in shallow water to escape the flames.

Bushfires have destroyed more than 4 million hectares (10

million acres) and new blazes are sparked almost daily by

extremely hot and windy conditions and, most recently, dry

lightning strikes created by the fires themselves.

Cooler conditions on Wednesday gave the country a moment to

count the cost of the fires, although there were still more than

100 blazes in New South Wales (NSW) state alone and thousands of

firefighters on the ground.

The body of a man was found in a burnt car early on

Wednesday on the south coast of New South Wales after emergency

workers began reaching the most damaged areas, and police said

the death toll will rise.

"Sadly, we can report today that police have confirmed a

further three deaths as a result of the fires on the South

Coast," NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys told

reporters in Sydney.

"Police are also at Lake Conjola now, where a house has been

destroyed by fire and the occupant of that home is still

unaccounted for."

NSW police did not identify the missing man but said he was

72 years old and authorities have been unable to reach his home.

Police said early assessments have found nearly 200 homes

have been destroyed, though they cautioned it was an early

estimate.

Large-scale livestock and animal casualties are also

expected across Australia's east coast, though Mogo Zoo - home

to Australia’s largest collection of primates, along with

zebras, white rhinos, lions, tigers and giraffes – was saved.

The wildlife park was threatened by an out-of-control

bushfire, though zoo keepers and firefighters managed to save

all 200 animals.

In Victoria state, four people remain missing, state Premier

Daniel Andrews said, after a massive blaze ripped through

Gippsland - a rural region about 500 km (310 miles) east of

Melbourne.

About 4,000 people in the town of Mallacoota in Victoria

headed to the waterfront after the main road was cut off.

Mark Tregellas, a resident of Mallacoota who spent the night

on a boat ramp, said only a late shift in the wind direction

sparred lives.

"The fire just continued to grow and then the black started

to descend. I couldn't see the hand in front in my face, and it

then it started to glow red and we knew the fire was coming,"

Tregellas told Reuters.

"Ash started to fall from the air and then the embers

started to come down. At that point, people started to bring

their kids and families into the water. Thankfully, the wind

changed and the fire moved away."

In Milton, a small town on the on the NSW south coast,

locals queued for hours for the few remaining items left of

shelves on supermarkets.

Emma Schirmer, who evacuated from her house in Batemans Bay

with her three-month child on Tuesday, said the local shop was

limiting sales to six items per customer, while a power outage

meant shoppers could pay only with cash.

As shops run low and firefighters struggle with exhaustion,

Australia's military, including Black Hawk helicopters,

fixed-wing aircraft and naval vessels were being deployed.

"We've got choppers taking 90 firefighters out of the

Mallacoota area, they can't be removed any other way - we're

essentially doing a shift change by the air," Andrews told

reporters.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said authorities were

working to restore communications with areas cut off by the

fires, and she warned conditions will deteriorate again over the

weekend.

"Weather conditions on Saturday will be as bad as they were"

on Tuesday, Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

Meanwhile, Australia's capital Canberra was blanketed in

thick smoke, reaching about 20 times hazardous levels, prompting

health warnings.

The smoke has also drifted to New Zealand where it has

turned the daytime sky orange across the South Island. 

Reuters

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