Firefighters battle massive bush fire

The vegetation on Fraser Island is extremely dry and because it’s so dry it’s therefore very easy to ignite

BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) — Australian firefighters are struggling to control a massive bush fire that already destroyed 40 percent of the UNESCO world heritage-listed Fraser Island before a heatwave hit Monday.

The fire on the world’s largest sand island, off Australia’s east coast, has been raging for more than six weeks and is consuming large swathes of the island’s unique forests.

Temperatures are forecast to peak at 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit) Monday as a heatwave sweeps across the region, raising concerns that hotter conditions will further fuel the blaze.

“The vegetation on Fraser Island is extremely dry and because it’s so dry it’s therefore very easy to ignite,” incident controller James Haig told AFP.

About two-thirds of Queensland state, including Fraser Island, is currently gripped by drought.

According to a recent report from the nation’s top science and meteorology agencies, climate change is fuelling more extreme droughts, bush fires and cyclones in Australia -— which they said will only worsen as temperatures continue to rise.

Firefighters on Fraser Island are not only battling “very challenging weather conditions,”

Haig said, but are stymied by limited access to the blaze in the island’s remote north.

Queensland Parks and

Wildlife Service said the fire was burning on two fronts across 74,000 hectares (183,000 acres) — or 42 percent of the island — but was not threatening properties.

However, as the fire has inched closer to settlements in recent days, authorities have banned new visitors from traveling to the popular holiday destination and restricted ferry services until further notice.