Homes evacuated as wildfires rage in five of Australia’s six states

CANBERRA: Australian fire crews battled hundreds of wildfires in a searing heatwave and powerful, hot outback winds yesterday, but hoped the day would end without loss of life or major damage.

Hundreds of homes were evacuated as fires raged in south-east Australia, but some people had no choice but to seek shelter in their homes as fires approached.

Temperatures soared above 45ºC.

Firefighters hoped cooler weather sweeping up the Australian east coast late yesterday, which brought temperatures down by 20ºC within hours in some coastal towns, would reduce the fire risk.

New South Wales state fire commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons warned that a respite would last only days before searing heat and outback winds returned.

The severe fire conditions replicated those of 2009, when “Black Saturday” wildfires in Victoria state claimed the lives of 173 people and caused $4.4 billion (R40bn) damage.

After a week-long heatwave, bushfires are raging in five of Australia’s six states, with more than 137 fires burning in New South Wales and in forests around the capital, Canberra.

About 100 houses, the majority in the island state of Tasmania, have been destroyed in bushfires in recent days, and many people are missing.

More than 40 fires were raging out of control yesterday as thousands of firefighters and more than 60 water-bombing aircraft battled the blazes, some suspected to have been lit by arsonists.

Fire officials declared five areas of southern New South Wales as catastrophic, meaning if fires broke out they could not be controlled.

The blistering heat also caused a blaze at a nuclear research facility in Sydney after cabling overheated in a nearby electricity substation.