Australia Plagued by More Than 90 Wildfires

January 19,2014

 

 

 

 

CANBERRA, Australia — More than 90 wildfires were burning over Australia's New South Wales state on Sunday, but the danger has ebbed in neighboring Victoria and South Australia states.
Many of the 93 fires burning across New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, were sparked by overnight lightning strikes, state Country Fire Service spokesman Matt Sun said. At least three houses had been destroyed near the village of Minimbah, west of Sydney, he said.
He said 900 firefighters continued to battle blazes late Sunday.
Heat wave conditions across southeast Australia last week intensified wildfires that destroyed at least 25 houses in Victoria and South Australia over several days.
Victoria Fire Service Commissioner Craig Lapsley said Australia's second most populous state had coped "reasonably well" with a fire emergency that scorched 130,000 hectares (320,000 acres) of grass and woodlands. On Sunday, the emergency was over, but 35 fires continued to burn.
In South Australia, firefighters were concerned by only one fire Sunday.

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In this Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014 photo released by Victoria Country Fire Authority, a water bomber works over a large fire burning throughout Victoria's Grampians region. (AP Photo/Country Fire Authority)