‘Too Late to Leave’: Bushfires out of Control Across Southeast Australia, 2 More Killed

Reuters
By Reuters
January 4, 2020Australia
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‘Too Late to Leave’: Bushfires out of Control Across Southeast Australia, 2 More Killed
Heavy smoke shrouds yachts moored at Batemans Bay, New South Wales, Australia, on Jan. 4, 2020. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins/via Reuters)

SYDNEY/MELBOURNE—Bushfires were burning dangerously out of control on Australia’s east coast on Saturday, fueled by soaring temperatures and strong winds that had firefighters battling to save lives and property.

Authorities have said conditions could be worse than New Year’s Eve on Tuesday, when fires burnt massive tracts of bushland and forced thousands of residents and summer holidaymakers to seek refuge on beaches.

The national death toll in the current fire season, which began in September, is 23, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. Of the deaths, eight were confirmed since Dec. 30.

More than 5 million hectares (13 million acres) of land has been burnt across the country.

The government announced an unprecedented call up of army reservists to support firefighters as well other resources including a third navy ship equipped for disaster and humanitarian relief.

Evacuation Notices Issued Across NSW As Firefighters Prepare For Dangerous Bushfire Conditions
The sky turns red over the town in Bodalla, NSW, Australia on Jan. 4, 2020. (Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)

“Conditions beginning to deteriorate quickly on NSW southern firegrounds,” the Bureau of Meteorology said in a tweet. “Heat and wind are building which is increasing fire activity.”

In South Australia, two people died on Kangaroo Island, a popular holiday spot not far off the coast, taking the national toll from this week’s fires to 12. Twenty-one people remain unaccounted for in Victoria, down from 28 reported on Friday.

mallacoota
Bushfire evacuees aboard one of HMAS Choules’ landing craft being ferried out the ship at Mallacoota, Australia, on Jan. 3, 2020. (AAP Image/Supplied by the Department of Defence, Helen Frank/via Reuters)

More than 130 fires were burning in NSW on Saturday, many out of control, and in Victoria there were evacuation recommendations for six fires, emergency warnings for 11 others and dozens more still burning.

“There are a number of large and dangerous fires burning across NSW that pose a serious threat to life,” the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) said.

bodalla nsw australia
RFS Trucks gather in front of the RFS station in Bodalla, Australia, on Jan. 4, 2020. (Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)

In Victoria, authorities had urged people in areas covered by a state of disaster declaration to evacuate, and said that tens of thousands of the estimated 100,000 population had left for safety.

“But there are still significant populations in those areas,” said Graham Ashton, Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police. Those who stayed needed to keep monitoring emergency announcements and fire tracking apps, he said.

New South Wales’ and Victoria’s emergency services have issued maps (link NSW/link Victoria) to predict the spread of fires on Saturday.

The first of thousands of residents and vacationers stranded on a beach in Mallacoota in southeastern Australia landed near Melbourne on Saturday morning after a 20-hour journey by ship. A much bigger ship, carrying about 1,000 people, is due to arrive on Saturday afternoon.

Evacuees from Mallacoota arrive on the navy ship MV Sycamore at the port of Hastings, Victoria, Australia
Evacuees from Mallacoota arrive on the navy ship MV Sycamore at the port of Hastings, Victoria, Australia, Jan. 4, 2020. (AAP Image/News Corp Pool, Ian Currie/ via Reuters)
Mallacoota bushfires evacuees and a cat, who arrived at the port of Hastings on MV Sycamore this morning, arrive at the Somerville Recreation Centre in Somerville south-east of Melbourne
Mallacoota bushfires evacuees and a cat, who arrived at the port of Hastings on MV Sycamore this morning, arrive at the Somerville Recreation Centre in Somerville south-east of Melbourne, Australia on Jan. 4, 2020. (AAP Image/Julian Smith via Reuters)

In parts of the Snowy Mountains region in NSW, remaining residents were told they were at risk.

“The window of opportunity to leave has now closed. It is too late to leave,” the RFS said in a fire advice bulletin. “Seek shelter as the fire approaches. Protect yourself from the heat of the fire.”

A late southerly wind change expected on Saturday will dramatically lower temperatures, but it will also bring wind gusts of 70-80 km/h (43-50 mph) in coastal areas where some of the most dangerous fires are burning.

South Australian Premier Steven Marshall said more than 100,000 hectares of Kangaroo Island, about one quarter of its total area, had been burnt, but weather conditions have now improved.

A view of a burnt residential area, aftermath of bushfires, in Jenolan Caves
A view of a burnt residential area, aftermath of bushfires, in Jenolan Caves, New South Wales, Australia on Jan. 1, 2020 in this picture obtained from social media. (Jenolan Caves RFS/via Reuters)

The focus on Saturday is preventing more loss of life, authorities said. National parks have been closed and people strongly urged earlier this week to evacuate large parts of NSW’s south coast and Victoria’s north eastern regions, magnets for holidaymakers at the peak of Australia’s summer school holidays.

Morrison confirmed that his visit to India and Japan scheduled for mid-January had been postponed due to the fires.

By John Mair, Will Ziebell and Sonali Paul

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