Wildfires threaten Australian capital and south-east towns
The capital region declared a state of emergency on Friday.
Wildfires burned out of control near Australia’s national capital, Canberra, and across surrounding New South Wales state on Saturday, with endangered residents warned to prepare to evacuate.
The capital region declared a state of emergency on Friday because of a fire that by Saturday covered 88,500 acres (35,800 hectares) of forest and farmland south of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Emergency Services Agency Commissioner Georgeina Whelan said.
The fires threaten Canberra’s southern suburbs and the nearby village of Tharwa, which has been cut off by road closures since Saturday morning.
“The fire may pose a threat to lives directly in its path,” Ms Whelan told reporters in Canberra. “Driving is extremely dangerous and potentially deadly.”
New South Wales Rural Fire Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said sheds and stables had been destroyed but no homes had been reported lost to wildfires on Saturday.
The continuing state of emergency is the first in the Australian Capital Territory since 2003, when wildfires killed four people and destroyed almost 500 homes in a single day.
Fires across southern Australia have claimed at least 33 lives since September, destroyed more than 3,000 homes and razed more than 10.6 million hectares (26.2 million acres).
