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.