Australian bushfires raze homes, cut power to tens of thousands

SYDNEY: Thousands of firefighters on Saturday toiled in Australia’s Victoria state to get the upper hand on bushfires that have razed homes, cut power to tens of thousands and burned vast swathes of bushland.

The blazes, mostly sparking at midweek amid an intense heatwave in Australia’s southeast, have torn through more than 300,000 hectares (741,316 acres) of bushland, authorities said on Saturday morning, adding that 10 major fires were still burning statewide.

More than 130 structures, including homes, have been destroyed and around 38,000 residences and businesses were without power due to the fires, the authorities said. They said the fires were the worst to hit the state since the Black Summer blazes of 2019-2020 that destroyed an area the size of Turkey and killed 33 people.

Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan said thousands of firefighters were in the field working to contain the fires.

“Where we can fires will be being brought under control,” Allan said in a televised media conference from state capital Melbourne.

Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the nation faced a day of “extreme and dangerous” fire weather, especially in Victoria, where much of the state has been declared a disaster zone.

“My thoughts are with Australians in these regional communities at this very difficult time,” Albanese said in televised remarks from Canberra.

One of the largest fires, near the town of Longwood, about 112 km (69.6 miles) north of Melbourne, has burned 130,000 hectares (320,000 acres) of bushland, destroying 30 structures, vineyards and agricultural land, authorities said.

Dozens of communities near the fires have been evacuated and many of the state’s parks and campgrounds are closed.

A heatwave warning on Saturday was in place for large parts of Victoria, while fire weather warnings were active for neighbouring New South Wales state and the Australian Capital Territory, the nation’s weather forecaster said.