Cooler conditions on Wednesday, the first day of 2020, allowed authorities to take stock of the damage from the latest blazes this week that have destroyed more than 200 homes and damaged roadways, cutting off coastal areas. Fire danger still remains high in New South Wales and Victoria states, where four people are missing.
Victoria Emergency Commissioner Andrew Crisp told reporters on Wednesday the Australian Defence Force was moving naval assets to the town of Mallacoota on a supply mission that would last two weeks and military helicopters would also fly in more firefighters since roads were inaccessible.
“We have three months of hot weather to come," Crisp said. "We do have a dynamic and a dangerous fire situation across the state."
Australia is deploying military ships to help communities ravaged by wildfires that destroyed homes and sent thousands of residents and holidaymakers fleeing to the shoreline.
(ABIS Benjamin Ricketts/ADF via AP)
On the last day of 2019, some 4,000 people in the coastal town of Mallacoota were forced to flee to the shore as winds pushed a fire toward their homes under a sky darkened by smoke and turned blood-red by flames. Photos from some of those trapped on the beach showed how the smoke turned the sky dark.
Stranded residents and vacationers slept in their cars, and gas stations and surf clubs transformed into evacuation areas.
"The fire just continued to grow," Mark Tregellas, one of the thousands who had to sleep on the beach, told Sky News. "The black started to descend and I couldn't see the hand in front of my face."
Dozens of homes burned before winds changed direction late Tuesday, sparing the rest of the town.
This Monday, Dec. 30, 2019 photo provided by State Government of Victoria shows wildfires in East Gippsland, Victoria state, Australia.
(State Government of Victoria via AP)
"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," Tregellas said.
Victoria police said officers were working "around the clock" to help the community, with three police vessels that brought police to Mallacoota on Wednesday afternoon with water, a paramedic, food, and medical supplies.
In the New South Wales town of Conjola Park, 89 properties were confirmed destroyed and cars were melted by Tuesday’s fires. More than 100 fires were still burning in the state Wednesday, though none were at an emergency level. Seven people have died this week, including a volunteer firefighter, a man found in a burnt-out car and a father and son who died in their house.
Authorities confirmed three bodies were found Wednesday at Lake Conjola on the south coast of New South Wales, bringing the death toll in the state to 15.
Wildfires burning across Australia's two most-populous states trapped residents of a seaside town in apocalyptic conditions Tuesday, Dec. 31, and were feared to have destroyed many properties and caused fatalities.
(State Government of Victoria via AP)
Firefighting crews were able to take advantage of easing conditions on Wednesday to restore power to critical infrastructure and conduct some back burning before conditions were expected to deteriorate Saturday as high temperatures and strong winds return.
"There is every potential that the conditions on Saturday will be as bad or worse than we saw yesterday," New South Wales Rural Fire Service Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said.
The wildfire crisis in Australia has burned around 12.35 million acres of land, with 17 people confirmed dead and more than 1,000 homes destroyed in the past couple of months.
In this Monday, Dec. 30, 2019 photo provided by State Government of Victoria, a helicopter tackles a wildfire in East Gippsland, Victoria state, Australia.
(State Government of Victoria via AP)
The annual Australian fire season, which peaks during the Southern Hemisphere summer, started early after an unusually warm and dry winter. Record-breaking heat and windy conditions triggered wildfires in New South Wales and Queensland states in September.
Some communities canceled New Year’s fireworks celebrations, but Sydney’s popular display over its iconic harbor controversially went ahead in front of more than a million revelers.
The early and devastating start to Australia’s summer wildfires has led authorities to rate this season the worst on record and reignited the debate about whether Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s conservative government has taken enough action on climate change. Australia is the world’s largest exporter of coal and liquefied natural gas, but Morrison rejected calls last month to downsize Australia’s lucrative coal industry.
Morrison won a surprise third term in May, with his government making a pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent by 2030.
This Monday, Dec. 30, 2019 photo provided by State Government of Victoria shows wildfires in East Gippsland, Victoria state, Australia.
(State Government of Victoria via AP)
The leader of the minor Australian Greens party, Richard Di Natale, is now demanding a royal commission, the nation’s highest form of inquiry, on the wildfire crisis.
“If he (Morrison) refuses to do so, we will be moving for a parliamentary commission of inquiry with royal commission-like powers as soon as parliament returns,” Di Natale said in a statement.
Two people found in separate cars on Wednesday morning
A father and son who stayed behind to defend their home and farm equipment
A 28-year-old volunteer firefighter who was killed when wind flipped his fire engine
Family members of Mick Roberts, a 67-year-old Victorian missing since Monday, confirmed that he had been found dead in his home in Buchan, East Gippsland.
"Very sad day for us to (start) the year but we're a bloody tight family and we will never forget our mate and my beautiful Uncle Mick," his niece Leah Parson said on Facebook.
The deaths bring the total fire-related fatalities across Australia this season to at least 18, with warnings this could rise further.
Of the homes destroyed in this week's blazes, 43 were in East Gippsland, Victoria, while another 176 were in New South Wales.
In Mallacoota, Victoria - where thousands fled to the beach on Tuesday - police boats arrived with 1.6 tonnes of water for residents.
They also brought food, a paramedic and medical supplies.
At the same time, police warned people in Sunbury, Victoria - around 40km (25 miles) north-west of Melbourne - to leave the area, as an emergency fire warning was in place.
Earlier, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said workers would take advantage of the milder weather on Wednesday to clear roads and restore power.
But she said temperatures were expected to rise again on Saturday.
"At the very least, weather conditions will be at least as bad as what they were yesterday," she said.
The fire service warned they had been unable to reach some people in remote areas.
"We've got reports of injuries and burn injuries to members of the public," said New South Wales rural fire commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons.
"We haven't been able to get access via roads or via aircraft - it's been socked in [runways have been closed] or too dangerous."
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In Mallacoota, many people spent the night sleeping in their cars or on deck chairs.
Victoria Emergency Commissioner Andrew Crisp said - as well as the police vessels - "a large barge" was sailing from Melbourne to the town with food, water and 30,000 litres of fuel.
In Cann River, a town around 80km (50 miles) inland from Mallacoota, residents warned that food supplies were running low.
Further north in Ulladulla, New South Wales, people were queuing outside supermarkets - while cuts to mobile networks and landlines meant people also waited to use payphones.
"Finn drove the boat and my other son looked after the dog in the boat and [I am] very proud of both of them," she told ABC News.
When the family returned to land, as conditions eased, they went to check on their home.
"Our street somehow escaped the fire somehow," she said. "However, I feel for many people in our community who have lost their homes. It's just truly saddening."
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.
