One dead, at least 100 homes lost in Australia bushfires

SYDNEY (AFP) – At least one person has died and 100 homes have been destroyed as an unprecedented number of bushfires tore through eastern Australia Saturday.

Firefighters in the state of New South Wales said they had found the remains of one person in a car, as they battled dozens of out-of-control blazes. ''At this stage, it appears at least 100 homes have been destroyed in yesterday's bush fires,'' the fire service said in an update early Saturday.

Two other people are said to be unaccounted for and more than 30 people have been injured, most of them firefighters.

Some 100 blazes pockmarked the New South Wales and Queensland countryside – around eight of them remained highly dangerous.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the large number of fires was ''incredibly concerning.'' He urged residents to ''stay safe'' and ''listen to emergency services.''

''I'm getting regular updates & we stand ready to offer any assistance needed,'' he tweeted.

Firefighters had warned they were in ''uncharted territory'' as they deployed 1,200 firefighters and 70 aircraft across a roughly 1,000-kilometre (620-mile) stretch of the seaboard.

Bushfires are common in Australia and a vast corps of firefighters had already been tackling sporadic blazes for months in the lead-up to the southern hemisphere summer.

But this is a dramatic start to what scientists predict will be a tough fire season ahead – with climate change and unfavorable weather cycles helping create a tinderbox of strong winds, low humidity and high temperatures.

While conditions eased markedly in some areas and the forecast was downgraded from ''extreme'' to ''high'' or ''very high'' Saturday, a total fire ban remained in place in many areas and further high winds were predicted.

Firefighters had described the conditions Friday as ''difficult'' and ''dangerous.''