Cooler weather brings respite in Aus wildfire crisis

Photo: AP

Milder temperatures Sunday brought hope of a respite from wildfires that have ravaged three Australian states, claiming 24 lives and destroying almost 2,000 homes.

Saturday was a day of high tension as soaring temperatures and strong winds fanned fires in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, forcing thousands to flee and bringing flames to the suburban fringes of Sydney.

Thousands of firefighters fought to contain the blazes but many continued to burn out of control, threatening to wipe out rural townships and causing almost incalculable damage to property and wildlife.

As dawn broke over a blackened landscape Sunday, a picture emerged of the disaster of unprecedented scale. The Rural Fire Service said 150 fires were active in the state, 64 of them uncontrolled.

"It's not something we have experienced before," New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

"The weather activity we're seeing, the extent and spread of the fires, the speed at which they're (moving), the way they are attacking communities that have never seen fire is unprecedented," she said.

She said that the extent of the bushfire season was the largest in living memory, "and many experts have been around much longer than I have, who fought fires and observed circumstances. All agree we're in uncharted territory."

The latest fatality occurred at Batlow in New South Wales, where a 47-year-old man died Saturday night while defending the home of a friend from encroaching fires. New South Wales police said the man was found unconscious in a vehicle and could not be revived.

Earlier Saturday, a father and son who were battling flames for two days died on a highway on Kangaroo Island, off South Australia state. Authorities identified them as Dick Lang, a 78-year-old acclaimed bush pilot and outback safari operator, and his 43-year-old son, Clayton. Their family said their losses left them "heartbroken and reeling from this double tragedy."

Lang, known as "Desert Dick," led tours for travelers throughout Australia and other countries.

"The weather conditions have improved in New South Wales and Victoria but there are still many fires raging and there's a significant firefighting effort continuing," Prime Minister Scott Morrison told a news conference Sunday. Read more