SYDNEY (Reuters) - A third person was confirmed dead on Wednesday in devastating bushfires that engulfed Australia’s southeast coast this week and a fourth was missing and feared dead, as navy ships rushed to provide supplies and assist with evacuations.
Twelve people have now lost their lives in fire-related deaths across Australia since blazes broke out a few months ago, including three volunteer firefighters, after a three-year drought in large parts of the nation created tinder-dry conditions.
Fanned by soaring temperatures, columns of fire and smoke blackened entire towns on Monday and Tuesday, forcing thousands of residents and holidaymakers to seek shelter on beaches. Many stood in shallow water to escape the flames.
Bushfires have destroyed more than 4 million hectares (10 million acres) and new blazes are sparked almost daily by extremely hot and windy conditions and, most recently, dry lightning strikes created by the fires themselves.
Cooler conditions on Wednesday gave the country a moment to count the cost of the fires, although there were still more than 100 blazes in New South Wales (NSW) state alone and thousands of firefighters on the ground.
The body of a man was found in a burnt car early on Wednesday on the south coast of New South Wales after emergency workers began reaching the most damaged areas, and police said the death toll will rise.
“Sadly, we can report today that police have confirmed a further three deaths as a result of the fires on the South Coast,” NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys told reporters in Sydney.
“Police are also at Lake Conjola now, where a house has been destroyed by fire and the occupant of that home is still unaccounted for.”
NSW police did not identify the missing man but said he was 72 years old and authorities have been unable to reach his home.
Police said early assessments have found nearly 200 homes have been destroyed, though they cautioned it was an early estimate.
Large-scale livestock and animal casualties are also expected across Australia’s east coast, though Mogo Zoo - home to Australia’s largest collection of primates, along with zebras, white rhinos, lions, tigers and giraffes – was saved.
The wildlife park was threatened by an out-of-control bushfire, though zoo keepers and firefighters managed to save all 200 animals.
Smoke from the Currowan Fire is pictured from St George’s Basin south of Nowra and looking towards Sussex Inlet and Lake Conjola, Australia, December 31, 2019 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. John Wardle via REUTERS
In Victoria state, four people remain missing, state Premier Daniel Andrews said, after a massive blaze ripped through Gippsland - a rural region about 500 km (310 miles) east of Melbourne.
About 4,000 people in the town of Mallacoota in Victoria headed to the waterfront after the main road was cut off.
Mark Tregellas, a resident of Mallacoota who spent the night on a boat ramp, said only a late shift in the wind direction sparred lives.
“The fire just continued to grow and then the black started to descend. I couldn’t see the hand in front in my face, and it then it started to glow red and we knew the fire was coming,” Tregellas told Reuters.
“Ash started to fall from the air and then the embers started to come down. At that point, people started to bring their kids and families into the water. Thankfully, the wind changed and the fire moved away.”
In Milton, a small town on the on the NSW south coast, locals queued for hours for the few remaining items left of shelves on supermarkets.
Emma Schirmer, who evacuated from her house in Batemans Bay with her three-month child on Tuesday, said the local shop was limiting sales to six items per customer, while a power outage meant shoppers could pay only with cash.
As shops run low and firefighters struggle with exhaustion, Australia’s military, including Black Hawk helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and naval vessels were being deployed.
“We’ve got choppers taking 90 firefighters out of the Mallacoota area, they can’t be removed any other way - we’re essentially doing a shift change by the air,” Andrews told reporters.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said authorities were working to restore communications with areas cut off by the fires, and she warned conditions will deteriorate again over the weekend.
“Weather conditions on Saturday will be as bad as they were” on Tuesday, Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.
Meanwhile, Australia’s capital Canberra was blanketed in thick smoke, reaching about 20 times hazardous levels, prompting health warnings.
Slideshow (3 Images)
The smoke has also drifted to New Zealand where it has turned the daytime sky orange across the South Island.
(Corrects paragraph 4 to remove erroneous comparison to Japan, which was also in earlier updates of the series.)
Reporting by Colin Packham in Sydney; Editing by Cynthia Osterman & Kim Coghill
Thousands of Australian residents and tourists are being forced to flee to its southeastern shore amid the wildfires decimating much of the country, news outlets reported Tuesday.
Evacuees faced apocalyptic scenes as they took to the beaches to avoid the flames in the states of Victoria and New South Wales after the warmest decade on record, according to The New York Times. Thousands were left in evacuation centers, and tens of thousands of others were without power.
Approximately 4,000 people escaped to the beaches into the water in Mallacoota, a family camping spot, while hundreds of families left their homes in Batemans Bay, New South Whales, on Tuesday, CNN reported.
Batemans Bay residents are now evacuating to the beach, these are the scene captured a short time ago.
The death toll has risen to at least 11 after a volunteer firefighter and a father and son died in New South Whales, according to the Times. Four people are missing in Victoria, CNN reported.
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The fires began over the weekend due to dry lightning and were intensified by high winds and hot weather. A total of 100 fires were burning in New South Whales on Tuesday, with 60 percent still needing to be contained. In Victoria, 70 new fires erupted Monday, and 20 of those are still active, according to CNN.
Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said 200,000 hectares have already been burned across the state, reportedly calling it a "dynamic and dangerous situation." Crisp added some communities are isolated and food packs and supplies are being put together to send.
Meteorologists expect the weather to improve in the next 24 hours but then worsen again by the end of the work.
Sydney, which has experienced heavy smoke from the fires, still put on its annual fireworks show for New Year’s Eve, despite a Change.org petition calling for the displays cancellation.
Idyllic coastal towns packed with tourists planning to ring in 2020 were cast in apocalyptic red on Tuesday, as smoke blotted out the sun.
In the town of Mallacoota, which lies on the easternmost edge of the state of Victoria and is a well-known family camping spot, around 4,000 people fled to beaches, authorities said.
"There's no way in or out," Mallacoota resident Jason Selmes told CNN after evacuating his home.
Another tourist, Ida Dempsey and her family from Melbourne, fled to their boat which was moored about 200 meters (656 feet) from the shore.
Dozens of fires continue to burn out of control in the states of Victoria and New South Wales (NSW). Thousands more people were forced to evacuate their homes along the NSW coast on Tuesday, which is dotted with small beach towns popular with holiday-makers over the Christmas season.
In Batemans Bay, NSW, hundreds of families fled their homes Tuesday under an eerie orange sky. "It was like we were in hell," vacationer Zoe Simmons told CNN. "We were all covered in ash."
Meanwhile, across Victoria, over 200,000 hectares have already been burnt in the fires, according to the state's Emergency Management Commissioner, Andrew Crisp. He warned: "It is still a dynamic and dangerous situation."
There is, however, a glimmer of hope. Weather conditions are expected to improve in the next 24 hours -- meaning cooler temperatures and lower winds -- but will worsen again by the end of the week, bringing dangerous fire conditions, according to CNN meteorologists.
By Tuesday evening, some people were even returning to their homes, according to Victoria's Country Fire Authority Chief, Steve Warrington, though he added that "a number of houses" in are believed to be destroyed or damaged.
Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said some communities in the state remain isolated, and food packs and other supplies are being organized for transport. Emergency crews are still working to determine the extent of damage by air, but suggest significant property loss across the East Gippsland region, he said.
Father and son among dead
The death toll continues to creep up from the fires, including a father and son in the NSW town of Cobargo on Tuesday. Four more people are unaccounted for in Victoria.
A volunteer firefighter who died on Monday, while working in the Green Valley, was named on Tuesday as 28-year-old Samuel McPaul. He leaves behind his wife, who is pregnant with their first child, after the truck he was in rolled in high winds, according to the state's Rural Fire Service.
The country relies heavily on its volunteer firefighters, who in some cases have been putting in 16-hour days to help tackle the blazes.
Earlier this week Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who cut short a family holiday in Hawaii to deal with the fire crisis, announced the government would be authorizing payments of up to $6,000 (US$4,200) for volunteer fire fighters "where they have been called out for extended periods of service."
There is a nationwide fire crisis
Fires have devastated parts of Australia for months. Across Victoria, 70 new fires started on Monday, of which more than 20 are still active. In the neighboring state of NSW there are more than 100 fires burning on Tuesday, of which 60 are yet to be contained.
Many of the fires were started on Sunday by dry lightning, and rapidly spread due to strong winds and hot, dry weather.
More than 900 homes have been destroyed in NSW since the start of the fire season, and that number will likely increase as firefighters struggle to contain the massive fires.
NSW and Victoria are some of the hardest-hit locations, but there have been fires occurring in every state across Australia as weather conditions worsen.
State and federal authorities have activated emergency resources and deployed thousands of firefighters since the fire season began in early September. The Australian Defence Force has sent assistance to multiple states, including air force aircraft and army personnel.The United States, Canada, and New Zealand have also sent additional firefighters to help.
Fireworks will go ahead
For weeks, Sydney has been shrouded in smoke from bushfires, leading to calls to cancel the city's famed New Year's eve fireworks.
Despite more than a quarter of a million people signing an online petition calling for the annual display to be scrapped, the event will go ahead.
The Change.org petition said the funds that would normally be spent on the dazzling firework display should be redistributed towards the firefighting efforts.
But Sydney's Lord Mayor Clover Moore said: "Our fireworks are planned 15 months in advance and most of the budget -- which is largely allocated to crowd safety and cleaning measures -- has already been spent."
Idyllic coastal towns packed with tourists planning to ring in 2020 were cast in apocalyptic red on Tuesday, as smoke blotted out the sun.
In the town of Mallacoota, which lies on the easternmost edge of the state of Victoria and is a well-known family camping spot, around 4,000 people fled to beaches, authorities said.
"There's no way in or out," Mallacoota resident Jason Selmes told CNN after evacuating his home.
Another tourist, Ida Dempsey and her family from Melbourne, fled to their boat which was moored about 200 meters (656 feet) from the shore.
Dozens of fires continue to burn out of control in the states of Victoria and New South Wales (NSW). Thousands more people were forced to evacuate their homes along the NSW coast on Tuesday, which is dotted with small beach towns popular with holiday-makers over the Christmas season.
In Batemans Bay, NSW, hundreds of families fled their homes Tuesday under an eerie orange sky. "It was like we were in hell," vacationer Zoe Simmons told CNN. "We were all covered in ash."
Meanwhile, across Victoria, over 200,000 hectares have already been burnt in the fires, according to the state's Emergency Management Commissioner, Andrew Crisp. He warned: "It is still a dynamic and dangerous situation."
There is, however, a glimmer of hope. Weather conditions are expected to improve in the next 24 hours -- meaning cooler temperatures and lower winds -- but will worsen again by the end of the week, bringing dangerous fire conditions, according to CNN meteorologists.
By Tuesday evening, some people were even returning to their homes, according to Victoria's Country Fire Authority Chief, Steve Warrington, though he added that "a number of houses" in are believed to be destroyed or damaged.
Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said some communities in the state remain isolated, and food packs and other supplies are being organized for transport. Emergency crews are still working to determine the extent of damage by air, but suggest significant property loss across the East Gippsland region, he said.
Father and son among dead
The death toll continues to creep up from the fires, including a father and son in the NSW town of Cobargo on Tuesday. Four more people are unaccounted for in Victoria.
A volunteer firefighter who died on Monday, while working in the Green Valley, was named on Tuesday as 28-year-old Samuel McPaul. He leaves behind his wife, who is pregnant with their first child, after the truck he was in rolled in high winds, according to the state's Rural Fire Service.
The country relies heavily on its volunteer firefighters, who in some cases have been putting in 16-hour days to help tackle the blazes.
Earlier this week Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who cut short a family holiday in Hawaii to deal with the fire crisis, announced the government would be authorizing payments of up to $6,000 (US$4,200) for volunteer fire fighters "where they have been called out for extended periods of service."
There is a nationwide fire crisis
Fires have devastated parts of Australia for months. Across Victoria, 70 new fires started on Monday, of which more than 20 are still active. In the neighboring state of NSW there are more than 100 fires burning on Tuesday, of which 60 are yet to be contained.
Many of the fires were started on Sunday by dry lightning, and rapidly spread due to strong winds and hot, dry weather.
More than 900 homes have been destroyed in NSW since the start of the fire season, and that number will likely increase as firefighters struggle to contain the massive fires.
NSW and Victoria are some of the hardest-hit locations, but there have been fires occurring in every state across Australia as weather conditions worsen.
State and federal authorities have activated emergency resources and deployed thousands of firefighters since the fire season began in early September. The Australian Defence Force has sent assistance to multiple states, including air force aircraft and army personnel.The United States, Canada, and New Zealand have also sent additional firefighters to help.
Fireworks will go ahead
For weeks, Sydney has been shrouded in smoke from bushfires, leading to calls to cancel the city's famed New Year's eve fireworks.
Despite more than a quarter of a million people signing an online petition calling for the annual display to be scrapped, the event will go ahead.
The Change.org petition said the funds that would normally be spent on the dazzling firework display should be redistributed towards the firefighting efforts.
But Sydney's Lord Mayor Clover Moore said: "Our fireworks are planned 15 months in advance and most of the budget -- which is largely allocated to crowd safety and cleaning measures -- has already been spent."
Residents watch the developing conditions near the town of Sussex Inlet on Dec. 31, in Sydney.
There are a number of dangerous bushfires burning at emergency level across NSW as weather conditions deteriorate with temperatures expected to rise ahead of gusty southerly change. Princes Highway on the NSW South Coast has been closed with motorists told to avoid all non essential travel.
This timed-exposure image shows firefighters hosing down trees as they battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra in New South Wales on Dec. 31. - Thousands of holidaymakers and locals were forced to flee to beaches in fire-ravaged southeast Australia on Dec. 31, as blazes ripped through popular tourist areas leaving no escape by land.
A firefighter speaks to a resident trying to hose down her home in the hope of saving it from nearby bushfires around the town of Nowra in New South Wales on Dec. 31.
A New South Wales Police officer prepares to flee his roadblock on the Princes Highway near the town of Sussex Inlet on Dec. 31, in Sydney.
Firefighters conduct property protection near the town of Sussex Inlet on Dec. 31, in Sydney.
Commuters are seen as a Rural Fire Service helicopter lands on the Princes Highway near the town of Sussex Inlet on Dec. 31, in Sydney.
Smoke and flames rise from burning trees as bushfires hit the area around the town of Nowra in New South Wales on Dec. 31.
A truck driver prepares to move his vehicle through a roadblock bypass on the Princes Highway near the town of Sussex Inlet on Dec. 31, in Sydney.
Smoke from bushfires rises high into the air as fires hit the area around the town of Nowra in New South Wales on Dec. 31.
A skycrane drops water on a bushfire in scrub behind houses in Bundoora, Melbourne, on Dec. 30. New Year’s Eve fireworks in Australia’s capital and other cities have been canceled as the wildfire danger worsens in oppressive summer heat; and pressure is building for Sydney’s iconic celebrations to be similarly scrapped.
An aerial scene shows fires burning and smoke rising close to properties in Bundoora, Victoria state, on Dec. 30.
Australia Wildfires
The remains of a car that was destroyed by bushfires sits near a home in the town of Balmoral on Dec. 30, in Sydney. Firefighters have made the most of slightly cooler conditions over the weekend to contain bushfires burning across the state, however the fire danger is expected to rise due to increasing heat and winds. More than 1500 firefighters are currently battling more than 100 blazes across the NSW, with more than 30 fires still uncontained.
An aerial view of a bushfire in Ellerslie, New South Wales, on Dec. 30, in this still image obtained from social media video.
A home recently destroyed by bushfires can be seen near the town of Bilpin on Dec. 29, in Sydney, Australia.
Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Services (WIRES) volunteer and carer Tracy Burgess holds a severely burnt brushtail possum rescued from fires near Australia’s Blue Mountains, Dec. 29.
Tables and chairs are seen among debris at the Tutti Frutti cafe which was destroyed by bushfires in the town of Bilpin, 70 kms west of Sydney, on Dec. 29.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, second left, and New South Wales (NSW) Premier Gladys Berejiklian, third left, receive a briefing from Rural Fire Service (RFS) Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons, right, at the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) Headquarters in Sydney, on Dec. 29.
A sign is seen half burnt after bushfires ravaged the town of Bilpin, 70 kms west of Sydney, on Dec. 29.
A volunteer from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service works to extinguish spot fires following back burning operations in Mount Hay, in Blue Mountains, on Dec. 28.
In this image made from a video, smoke rises from wildfires, on Dec. 27, in the Blue Mountains, New South Whales.
A handout photo made available by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of a satellite image showing part of mainland Australia, on Dec. 26, where historic bushfires still rage in the southeastern states and territories, especially intense around the South Australian city of Adelaide, bottom left. Meanwhile, fires around Sydney have mostly been brought under control, but the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSWRFS) advised affected residents that weather conditions are forecast to deteriorate over the coming days.
In this image made from a video, an aerial scene shows a truck driving near fire burning in Harrogate, South Australia, on Dec. 25.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (R) speaks with a County Fire Service staff as he visits the Mount Barker South Australian County Fire Service headquarters in Mount Barker, on Dec. 24. Morrison is touring fire affected areas in South Australia.
Protesters cheer for firefighters as they rally outside as New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian meets with Rural Fire Service Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers at the Blue Mountains Fire Control Centre in Katoomba, on Dec. 23.
A view of a house damaged by recent catastrophic bushfires in the Southern Highlands village of Balmoral, New South Wales, on Dec. 23.
Rural Fire Service personnel hose down trees damaged by recent catastrophic bushfires in the Southern Highlands village of Balmoral, New South Wales, on Dec. 23.
In this image made from a video, a sign offers thanks and a Merry Christmas in a destroyed residential area by wildfire, on Dec. 23, in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales.
In this image made from video taken on Dec. 22, and provided by Oakbank Balhannah CFS, a koala drinks water from a bottle given by a firefighter in Cudlee Creek, South Australia. Around 200 wildfires were burning in four states, with New South Wales accounting for more than half of them, including 60 fires not contained.
Melissa O'Dwyer, whose husband Andrew O'Dwyer was killed while on duty as a volunteer firefighter, is hugged by a member of the Horsley Park Rural Fire Brigade on Dec. 22 in Sydney.
Tributes for volunteers Geoffrey Keaton and Andrew O'Dwyer are seen at Horsley Park Rural Fire Brigade on Dec. 22 in Sydney.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison talks to volunteers at he Picton Evacuation Centre on Dec. 22 in Picton.
In this image made from video taken and provided by NSW Rural Fire Service via their twitter account, a firefighter sprays water on a fire moving closer to a home in Blackheath, New South Wales state, on Dec. 22. Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday apologized for taking a family vacation in Hawaii as deadly bush fires raged across several states, destroying homes and claiming the lives of two volunteer firefighters.
A home is seen as smoke from the Grose Valley Fire rises in the distance, at Bilpin, on Dec. 21 New South Wales.
A fire burns at the side of a cliff in Blue Mountains, New South Waleson, Dec. 21.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Karen Webb talks to media at the NSW Rural Fire Service Headquarters on Dec. 21, in Sydney. A catastrophic fire danger warning has been issued for the greater Sydney region, the Illawarra and southern ranges as hot, windy conditions continue to hamper firefighting efforts across NSW. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a state of emergency on Thursday, the second state of emergency declared in NSW since the start of the bushfire season.
Horses in a paddock as the Gospers Mountain Fire impacts Bilpin, in the Blue Mountains, on Dec. 21. According to media reports, conditions are expected to worsen across much of the state as temperatures exceed 40 degrees Celsius.
A firefighting helicopter in action as the Grose Valley Fire approaches Bilpin, New South Wales, on Dec. 21.
A general view shows smoke from a bushfire near Gumeracha in the Adelaide Hills, on Dec. 21.
Smoke haze from bushfires blankets the Sydney central business district as beachgoers jump from a cliff in Nielsen Park during hot weather on Dec. 21.
Helicopters dump water on bushfires as they approach homes located on the outskirts of the town of Bargo on Dec. 21.
Staff work at the NSW Rural Fire Service State Operations Centre at the NSW Rural Fire Service Headquarters at Sydney Olympic Park on Dec. 21.
The sky is filled with smoke, and ash on Dec. 21, in Shoalhaven Heads.
Members of the Horsley Park RFS are seen at a memorial for volunteer firefighters who died when their fire truck was struck by a falling tree as it traveled through the front line of a fire, at the Horsley Park Rural Fire Brigade on Dec. 20, in Horsley Park, NSW.
A farmer uses a hose to douse flames as he drives a tractor in a burning paddock where a large bush fire burns near homes on the outskirts of the town of Bilpin on Dec. 19, in Sydney.
Fire and rescue personnel prepare to use a hose in an effort to extinguish a bush fire as it burns near homes on Dec. 19, in Sydney.
Rural Fire Service (RFS) crews engage in property protection of a number of homes along the Old Hume Highway on Dec. 19, in the southwest of Sydney.
Residents watch a large bushfire as seen from Bargo, 150km southwest of Sydney, on Dec. 19. A state of emergency was declared in Australia's most populated region as an unprecedented heatwave fanned out-of-control bushfires, destroying homes and smothering huge areas with a toxic smoke.
A helicopter drops fire retardant to protect a property in Balmoral, on Dec. 19.
A property burns from bushfires in Balmoral, on Dec. 19.
A tourist boat rides on the Harbour in thick smoke in Sydney, on Dec. 19.
50/50 SLIDES
Slideshow by photo services
Thousands of holidaymakers and locals were forced to flee to beaches in fire-ravaged southeast Australia Tuesday, as deadly blazes ripped through popular tourist areas and cut off several towns.
In fire-encircled seaside communities along a 200-kilometre (135-mile) strip of coast, terrified people -- wrapped in blankets and make-shift facemasks -- sought refuge near the water.
Some with boats even took to the sea in near-darkness, hoping to find safety, as one of the worst days yet in Australia's months-long bushfire crisis prompted the military to be deployed.
In a brutal 24 hours, three people have died, five more are unaccounted for, and scores of properties were feared destroyed as flames reached well-populated towns like Batemans Bay, normally bursting with visitors during Australia's summer holidays.
"We've got literally hundreds, thousands of people up and down the coast, taking refuge on the beaches" and in surf clubs, said Shane Fitzsimmons, commissioner of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.
"The roads are closed going west. The roads are closed going south. The roads are closed going north," he said, but added that a cool front had swept across the coast, "considerably" moderating many fires.
Still some four thousand people were trapped on the foreshore in the town of Mallacoota, where towering columns of smoke turned day to night and nearby fires caused waves of "ember attacks".
Victoria authorities said later Tuesday that Mallacoota and a nearby town remained cut off, but the life-threatening fire front had finally passed.
"I understand there was a public cheer down at the jetty when that was announced," said Steve Warrington of the Country Fire Authority, echoing a palpable sense of relief at the slightest good news.
In some places Tuesday's blazes were so intense, the smoke so thick and the fire-provoked dry lightning storms so severe that aerial reconnaissance and waterbombing had to be halted.
Australia's minister of defence said Linda Reynolds said three helicopters, one aircraft and two naval ships would be sent to the region.
The military is expected to conduct damage assessments and potentially provide those displaced with food, shelter and electricity and even evacuation.
More back-up has also been requested from firefighters in Canada and the United States.
Authorities said it likely that many of those trapped on the beaches would be forced to spend the night there.
The picture was barely better in inland rural communities, where countless more people were displaced and forced into make-shift camps.
Hundreds of "anxious and stressed and traumatised" people were gathered at Bega's showgrounds, said 44-year-old Beck Walker, who had been holidaying with her husband and two young sons when they heard sirens warning them to evacuate at around 4.30 am.
"We had to pack up and leave straight away," she told AFP. "It was pretty scary because the sky was red... By 7.30 am we thought it was still night because the sky had turned black."
- 'Ring of fire' -
Australia's unprecedented bushfires have been burning for months, but the latest in a series of heatwaves and high winds have wrought new devastation.
The crisis has also hit cities like Sydney and Melbourne, home to several million people.
On Monday, around 100,000 people had been urged to flee five Melbourne suburbs as the blaze bore down on homes just 16 kilometres (10 miles) from the centre of Australia's second-biggest city.
Sydney was again shrouded in toxic bushfire haze Tuesday. City officials said Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks would go ahead, but a similar event has been cancelled in Canberra and several regional towns.
A Rural Fire Service spokesman said a 28-year-old volunteer firefighter -- whose wife was due to give birth in May -- died Monday in New South Wales when a "fire tornado" picked up an eight-tonne truck "and flipped it over".
A 63-year-old man and his 29-year-old son died in the devastated town of Cobargo in the latest spasm of destruction Tuesday.
A helicopter dumps water on a bushfire in the outer suburbs of Melbourne
Bushfires have ravaged the town of Bilpin, west of Sydney
In some places the blazes were so intense, the smoke so thick so severe that aerial reconnaissance and waterbombing had to be halted
Distant bushfires light up the skies in the coastal town of Bermagui in New South Wales state
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has acknowledged a link between the fires and climate change but has continued his support of Australia's lucrative coal mining industry
Map of Victoria state of Australia showing the active fires as of December 31.
Residents and firefighters have been hosing down homes and land to stop the fires from spreading
7/7 SLIDES
Ten others, including two volunteer firefighters, have been killed so far this fire season.
The blazes have destroyed more than 1,000 homes and scorched well over three million hectares (7.4 million acres) -- an area bigger than Belgium.
The crisis has focused attention on climate change -- which scientists say is creating a longer and more intense bushfire season -- and sparked street protests.
While conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison belatedly acknowledged a link between the fires and climate change, he has continued his staunch support of Australia's lucrative coal mining industry or pay for exhausted volunteer firefighters.
Jenifer James, 64, said she had spent hours Tuesday working to protect her Bermagui home in semi-darkness and surrounded by a "ring of fire".
She said the political response to the disaster had been "very poor" and more needed to be done to support volunteer firefighters. "They are so bloody tired," she told AFP.
SYDNEY, Australia — As the fire stalked toward the coastal town of Mallacoota, the daytime sky turned inky black, then blood red. Emergency sirens wailed, replaced later by the thunder of gas explosions. Thousands of residents fled their homes and huddled near the shore. There was nowhere else to go.
On the last day of the warmest decade on record in Australia, the country’s east coast was dotted on Tuesday with apocalyptic scenes like the ones in Mallacoota, a vacation destination between Sydney and Melbourne.
Australia is in the grip of a devastating fire season, with months of summer still to go, as record-breaking temperatures, strong winds and prolonged drought have ignited huge blazes across the country.
In Mallacoota, residents in boats shared footage of themselves on social media in masks and life vests as they waited in the eerie light. Others opted to stay and defend homes, likening burning trees to “exploding infernos” and describing the roar of the blazes.
In Batemans Bay, four hours north, residents sat on folding chairs along the beach, life rafts at the ready, as a fire encircled the town and burned homes. To the south, in Cobargo, a father and son died in a blaze, bringing the death toll to at least 11 in this season’s fires.
As several fires burned out of control, thousands were stranded in evacuation centers in other towns along the coast as firefighters told people to stay put. Tens of thousands of people were without power, the Australian military was authorized to deploy aircraft and naval vessels, and the government requested firefighting help from Canada and the United States.
In Sydney, where heavy smoke from fires has obscured the sun many days this summer, officials rejected calls to cancel the city’s signature New Year’s Eve fireworks display after the Rural Fire Service in New South Wales approved the celebration.
Still, the service’s commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons, said on Tuesday that this fire season was one of the worst ever, with more than 900 homes destroyed in New South Wales and millions of acres burned. One blaze has reached the western part of Sydney.
The fires have been so fierce that they have created their own weather systems and forced volunteer firefighters to work around the clock. On Monday night, a volunteer firefighter died after a “fire tornado” in New South Wales caused a 10-ton fire truck to roll over.
The firefighter, Samuel McPaul, 28, was due to become a father in May. He was the third volunteer firefighter to die this fire season; the other two were fathers of young children.
In Mallacoota, just over the border in the state of Victoria, residents had spent Monday night preparing to evacuate. As the fire approached, some gathered at a community center, while others climbed into boats in bodies of water.
Early in the morning,about 4,000 residents and visitors were forced to leave their homes and vacation accommodation in Mallacoota, in the state of Victoria, authorities said.
The town activated its emergency siren warning of the imminent fire threat and residents headed to the seaside, following an evacuation plan previously outlined in community meetings.
"There's no way in or out," Mallacoota resident Jason Selmes told CNN after evacuating his home.
Thick smoke from the fires turned the morning sky pitch black. As the day wore on, the sky lightened to a bright orange, and the blazes began spreading through the town. Photographs from the ground showed homes burning and an approaching fire line.
Some people sought shelter in the sea. Ida Dempsey and her family were visiting from Melbourne, and evacuated to their boat, mooring about 200 meters (about 656 feet) from shore.
Three emergency strike teams were at the beach with the residents, and emergency services set up medical centers and safe evacuation locations, according to state agency Victoria Emergency.
Conditions became milder later in the afternoon, after a dangerous wind change bypassed the town. Country Fire Authority Chief Steve Warrington said it was "relatively good news," and that evacuees had cheered upon hearing the announcement.
Some people are now returning to their homes, while others remain on the beach. There are "a number of houses" believed to be destroyed or damaged, Warrington said.
However, the situation remains "dynamic and dangerous," and Warrington said there is still an emergency warning in place. A number of fires remain burning in the town and across the state that could spread across the East Gippsland region where Mallacoota is located. Warrington warned residents to stay aware of further alerts, and added that state authorities were still discussing potential evacuations.
Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said some communities in the state remain isolated, and food packs and other supplies are being organized for transport. Emergency crews are still working to determine the extent of damage by air, but suggest significant property loss across the East Gippsland region, he said.
Four people remain unaccounted for in Victoria with a "very real fear for their safety," state Premier Daniel Andrews said on Tuesday. He did not provide any further information on identities or exact locations.
Located in the far eastern corner of Victoria, East Gippsland is home to about 80,000 people, who are scattered across remote villages and towns. The region is popular with tourists, who go to see wildlife and hike in the national parks.
There is a nationwide fire crisis
As of Monday, there are more than 10 fires in the East Gippsland region alone, including three large ones that have been burning for more than a month, according to Victoria Emergency. Many of the fires were started on Sunday by dry lightning, and rapidly spread due to strong winds and hot, dry weather.
Weather conditions are expected to improve in the next 24 hours -- meaning cooler temperatures and lower winds -- but will worsen again by the end of the week, bringing dangerous fire conditions, according to CNN meteorologists.
Fires have devastated parts of Australia for months. Across Victoria, 70 new fires started on Monday, of which more than 20 are still active. In the neighboring state of New South Wales (NSW), there are more than 100 fires burning on Tuesday, of which 60 are yet to be contained.
The death toll has been slowly climbing. Two people were found dead Tuesday in the NSW town of Cobargo, with a third person still unaccounted for. On Monday, a 28-year-old volunteer firefighter died in NSW after strong winds rolled his truck over. Earlier in December, two other NSW volunteer firefighters died after their vehicle hit a tree during firefighting operations.
More than 900 homes have been destroyed in NSW since the start of the fire season, and that number will likely increase as firefighters struggle to contain the massive fires.
In Batemans Bay, NSW, hundreds of families were also evacuating their homes on Tuesday under an eerie orange sky. "It was like we were in hell," vacationer Zoe Simmons told CNN. "We were all covered in ash."
NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons warned there are thousands of people along the coast taking refuge with "a long, difficult, dangerous night ahead." He said that the fires on Tuesday spread faster and further than previously predicted, adding: "it's been a truly awful day."
NSW and Victoria are some of the hardest-hit locations, but there have been fires occurring in every state across Australia as weather conditions worsen.
State and federal authorities have activated emergency resources and deployed thousands of firefighters since the fire season began in early September. The Australian Defence Force has sent assistance to multiple states, including air force aircraft and army personnel.The United States, Canada, and New Zealand have also sent additional firefighters to help.
