MELBOURNE - Australia braced on Friday for strong winds that could whip up bush fires in two states over the weekend and add to a toll of more than 270 homes destroyed and a million hectares of land ravaged during the past week.
"A fresh burst of hot, dry westerly winds will result in severe fire dangers in the Darling Downs and Granite Belt," the Bureau of Meteorology flagged for the border region between the states of Queensland and New South Wales. In New South Wales, 259 homes have been destroyed over the past week and 59 bush or grass fires are still burning, but none are rated at the "catastrophic" warning level triggered earlier in the week, the state's Rural Fire Service said.The bush fire season has begun earlier than usual, in the southern hemisphere spring, and is expected to be long and brutal this year, as a three-year drought left broad swathes of Australia's east and west more susceptible to fire.
Property Property Latest News, Property Property Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »