AUSTRALIAN BUSHFIRES TRAP THOUSANDS OF HOLIDAYMAKERS
A third firefighter has died battling blazes in New South Wales, while in Victoria thousands of visitors who ignored warnings to leave a holiday region are now trapped by bush fires.
The firefighter died and two others suffered burns when a truck rolled over as they fought a blaze in Green Valley, near the Victoria border, Monday. It is believed it was tipped over by strong winds.
Meanwhile, more firefighters from across Canada headed to Australia to bolster Canadians already assisting the country in the battle against wildfires.
On Sunday, officials urged anyone in East Gippsland, a region half the size of Belgium, to evacuate. As well as residents, around 30,000 tourists at Lakes Entrance, a popular holiday destination, were affected.
Andrew Crisp, Victoria’s emergency management commissioner, said early Monday that the window of opportunity to flee Lakes Entrance would close quickly. “If you’re not out by 9 a.m. there is every chance you won’t be able to leave,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Darren Martin, the caretaker of Lakes Entrance Recreation and Camping Reserve, told local radio station 3AW that many seemed to have ignored the warning.
“All of the people in our caravan park have been coming back and forth for years and seem to think they would bunker down and just hope for the best,” he said.
Maximum temperatures across East Gippsland Monday ranged from 37.7 C to 48.9 C. It is unknown how many people remain in the area, but fires in the vicinity have destroyed tens of thousands of hectares and with high temperatures and strong winds, the danger remains high.
Elsewhere in Victoria, evacuation warnings were issued in eight shires. Properties on the northern outskirts of Melbourne were damaged as firefighters fought to keep the blaze out of the city. Residents in four suburbs were told to leave their homes. There were 22 bushfires at “emergency” level burning simultaneously across three Australian states Monday, 14 in Victoria, four in New South Wales and four in Tasmania.
ANOTHER FIREFIGHTER KILLED, BUT PM CALLS FOR SYDNEY NEW YEAR FIREWORKS TO GO ON
PALM BEACH U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the state of relations between their two countries in a phone call instigated by Putin, the White House said on Monday.
The official reason for the call, according to both sides, was for Putin to thank Trump for what White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said was “information the United States provided that helped foil a potential holiday terrorist attack in Russia.”
No details were provided, but Russia said on Sunday it had thwarted attacks reportedly planned in St. Petersburg thanks to a tip from Washington.
Gidley said both presidents committed to continuing counterterrorism co-operation between the two countries.