Homes have gone up in flames and skies turned blood red as nearly 1 000 firefighters battle dozens of out-of-control blazes in southern Australia in the wake of the nation's warmest summer on record.
A lightning strike late last week sparked southeast Victoria's most severe at Bunyip State Park, which has burnt more than 6 000 hectares so far. "I saw our wine cellar door, restaurant and the house next to our Airbnb cottage explode on TV. That's how we found out," Andrew Clarke, who fled his home on Saturday with his family, told The Age newspaper.
Victoria's emergency management commissioner Andrew Crisp said the crisis was not over, even as cooler conditions came to the aid of exhausted firefighters on Monday.Australia suffered its hottest summer on record from December through February, while forecasts show the southern autumn - which formally started on Friday - will continue to be drier and warmer than average.