One person has died and 300 homes and buildings have been destroyed in bushfires that have torn across south-east Australia.
The fires have raged in dozens of locations across the country for several days, mostly in the state of Victoria, but also in New South Wales, burning through land almost twice the size of Greater London.
A state of emergency has been declared in Victoria as thousands of firefighters and more than 70 aircraft battle the blaze. Residents in more than a dozen communities have been advised to evacuate their homes.
Authorities fear the blazes, fuelled by very hot, dry, and windy conditions, could burn for several weeks.
Victoria’s Premier, Jacinta Allan, said 30 active fires were burning across the state, 10 of which were of particular concern. She reported that 350,000 hectares had been burnt as of 08:00 local time on Sunday (23:00 GMT on Saturday).
“We will see fires continue for some time across the state, and that is why we are not through the worst of this by a long way,” Allan told Australian media. “There are fires continuing right now that are threatening homes and property.”
Human remains were found in the village of Gobur, near the town of Longwood, about 110 km north of Melbourne. Police have not yet identified the victim.
Allan praised the emergency workers who recovered the body. “This is difficult and confronting work, and it takes a heavy toll,” she said. “The Gobur community is grieving.”
Bushfire smoke is affecting air quality in many areas across Victoria, including metropolitan Melbourne.
Authorities said the fires are the worst to hit south-east Australia since the 2019-2020 blazes that destroyed an area the size of Turkey and killed 33 people.
One of the hardest-hit places is the small town of Harcourt in the central highlands of Victoria, where firefighter Tyrone Rice lost his home while fighting one of the bushfires. He told Australian media it was “like a kick in the guts, but I’m not the first person to go through it, and I won’t be the last.”
The local fire captain, Andrew Wilson, described the destruction in Harcourt as “gut-wrenching.”
A reporter for Australia’s 9 News, Jack Ward, told BBC World Service that after visiting several towns in Western Australia, the damage he saw was “catastrophic,” with many homes reduced to nothing more than “a tin roof lying on the ground.”
—BBC World
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