Wildfires have razed 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) of
forests and farmland across southern Tasmania since Friday. In New South
Wales, the country’s most populous state, the fires had burned through
more than 26,000 hectares (64,000 acres) of land.
More
than 130 fires were blazing across New South Wales, though only a few
dozen houses were under threat by early evening. One fire was
threatening about 30 homes near the small town of Cooma, south of the
capital of Canberra. Cooma-Monaro shire mayor Dean Lynch told
Australia’s Sky News some residents had evacuated to the nearby town of
Nimmitabel.
Strong winds were hampering efforts to
bring the fires under control. Wind gusts more than 100 kilometres an
hour (62 miles per hour) were recorded in some parts of the state.
All
state forests and national parks were closed as a precaution and total
fire bans were in place with temperatures surpassing 45 degrees Celsius
(113 Fahrenheit) in some areas.
Note
Wildfires are common during the Australian summer. In February 2009,
hundreds of fires across Victoria state killed 173 people and destroyed
more than 2,000 homes
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