| Online: | |
| Visits: | |
| Stories: |
Heatwave in Australia causes hundreds of wildfirest!
Australian officials say lightning, strong winds and dry conditions have fueled more than 300 separate wildfires near Melbourne this week. At the same time, much of Southern Australia is dealing with a record heatwave with temperatures in the 100s.
MELBOURNE – Up to 15 homes have been destroyed by bushfires near Melbourne but cooler conditions Monday aided crews battling them to get the upper hand, officials said.
A number of blazes ignited over the weekend, whipped up by strong winds and searing heat, and they quickly ran out of control.
One of the fires at Scotsburn, 90 kilometres west of Melbourne, surprised crews with its speed and ferocity with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporting Monday it razed 12 homes.
Another blaze at Barnawartha, also in Victoria state, burnt through about 9,000 hectares, destroying three properties.
The Country Fire Authority said the Scotsburn blaze was now under control while those centred around Barnawartha would likely be contained by the end of the day.
“What we’ve got is fairly stable weather patterns for the rest of the week,” CFA official James Todd said.
“We’ll have cooler weather and more light breezes, with a lot less chance of fires starting from natural events.”
Read more at:
http://news-uncensored-fresh.blogspot.com
