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| NSW and Victoria fires live: three more deaths confirmed in Australia bushfires and hundreds of homes destroyed – latest updates | NSW and Victoria fires live: three more deaths confirmed in Australia bushfires and hundreds of homes destroyed – latest updates |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| East Gippsland fires claim homes in Buchan, Sarsfield and Mallacoota, and 176 properties lost on New South Wales south coast. Follow live news and latest updates | East Gippsland fires claim homes in Buchan, Sarsfield and Mallacoota, and 176 properties lost on New South Wales south coast. Follow live news and latest updates |
| Two bushfires have merged on South Australia’s Kangaroo Island and are expected to burn for weeks, as firefighters prepare for a dangerous wind change, AAP reports. | |
| The fires started about five kilometres apart in the inaccessible Ravine Des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area and have burnt through more than 7500 hectares of native vegetation, timber plantations and private property. | |
| On Wednesday afternoon the combined fire was uncontrolled and burning in a northerly direction towards Snug Cove. | |
| Firefighters and water-bombing aircraft are focused on protecting assets, but the Country Fire Service said efforts might be hampered by changing weather conditions and poor visibility. | |
| If the blaze remains uncontained, northerly winds forecast for Friday could push it towards the Flinders Chase National Park. | |
| For the safety of tourists and the community, the CFS and SA National Parks and Wildlife Service have closed the park from midnight Wednesday until further notice. Extensive road closures are also in place on the western end of the island. | |
| The CFS has confirmed the Cudlee Creek fire, which broke out on December 20 and destroyed at least 70 homes, has been contained. | |
| The Dunns Road fire has been downgraded to a watch and act, which means there are currently no emergency level fires or warnings in NSW or Victoria. Having said that, the ABC has just reported the Currowan fire has jumped the Shoalhaven river in spots, which is not great news for people around Wingello, Penrose and Bundanoon. | |
| The RFS last provided an update on that fire a few hours ago, so I’ll bring more info when we have it. | |
| Shane Kelly has sent in these photos, taken somewhere east of Canberra. | |
| Guardian Australia would like to hear from you about your encounter with the fires in this summer’s unprecedented fire season. If you would like to get in contact with us, details are here. | |
| Further details from NSW police about the seven confirmed deaths in the southern NSW fires. | |
| Since Monday, emergency services have responded to the following fatal incidents: | |
| A 28-year-old RFS volunteer firefighter, Sam McPaul, died at a property on River Road, Jingellic, just before 6pm on Monday. | |
| A father and son, Robert and Patrick Salway – aged 63 and 29 – died at a property at Wandella, about 10km north-west of Cobargo, on Monday. | |
| A 70-year-old man was found dead outside a home at Yatte Yattah, about 6km west of Lake Conjola, on Tuesday. | |
| The body of a man was found in a burned-out car on a road off the Princes Highway at Yatte Yattah about 7.30am today. | |
| The body of a man was found in a vehicle on Wandra Road, Sussex Inlet about 11.30am today. He is yet to be formally identified. | |
| A body has been found outside a home at Coolagolite, about 10km east of Cobargo, today. ( I believe this is the person found by ambulance officers. We did not have a location earlier.) | |
| A 72-year-old man at Belowra and a 70-year-old woman at Conjola Park are still both unaccounted for. | |
| This particularly grim video shows the level of destruction to a line of shops in Mogo, on the NSW south coast. | This particularly grim video shows the level of destruction to a line of shops in Mogo, on the NSW south coast. |
| Good afternoon. This is Helen Davidson here to take you through the rest of the day’s live coverage of the continuing Australian bushfire crisis. | Good afternoon. This is Helen Davidson here to take you through the rest of the day’s live coverage of the continuing Australian bushfire crisis. |
| In NSW there is one emergency-level fire in the Snowy Valleys. The Dunns Road fire has burned more than 100,000 hectares. Conditions are easing but it is burning south of the Snowy Mountains Highway in the Ellerslie Range, and the south-westerly change is pushing the fire towards the areas of Kunama, Wondalga and surrounds. People there are urged to leave now towards Tumut if they aren’t prepared. | |
| There are six watch and act fires in the state, all in the south. | |
| In Tasmania there is one emergency warning for a fire in the north-east at Fingal through to Mathinna. The alert was issued about two hours ago and warned of high risk to the area, with the fire difficult to control. People north of Moonameeta were urged to evacuate to Mathinna. There are six other watch and act alerts, mainly in the north-east but also one north-west of Hobart. | |
| In Victoria there are currently no emergency warnings, as the Sunbury fire has been downgraded. There are 11 watch and act warnings issued. | |
| There is one watch and act fire in South Australia, on Kangaroo Island. | |
| And there are months to go. | And there are months to go. |
| Today we had both NSW and Victoria’s emergency chiefs tell us they could not get around these fires. That 10,000 firefighters on the ground would not be enough to stop the blazes. | Today we had both NSW and Victoria’s emergency chiefs tell us they could not get around these fires. That 10,000 firefighters on the ground would not be enough to stop the blazes. |
| All that is going to help is a change in conditions, but instead we are facing Saturday being worse than what we saw on Tuesday. | All that is going to help is a change in conditions, but instead we are facing Saturday being worse than what we saw on Tuesday. |
| And there are months to go in this season. MONTHS. | And there are months to go in this season. MONTHS. |
| On that dour note, I am going to hand you over to Helen Davidson for the evening coverage. | On that dour note, I am going to hand you over to Helen Davidson for the evening coverage. |
| Stay safe and pay attention to the warnings in your area. And please – take care of you. | Stay safe and pay attention to the warnings in your area. And please – take care of you. |
| QUEENSLAND | QUEENSLAND |
| * 7 bushfires burning | * 7 bushfires burning |
| * 250,000 hectares burned | * 250,000 hectares burned |
| * 45 homes confirmed destroyed | * 45 homes confirmed destroyed |
| WESTERN AUSTRALIA | WESTERN AUSTRALIA |
| * More than 40 bushfires burning, two of significance | * More than 40 bushfires burning, two of significance |
| * 1.2 million hectares burned | * 1.2 million hectares burned |
| * One home confirmed destroyed | * One home confirmed destroyed |
| TASMANIA | TASMANIA |
| * More than 30 bushfires burning, seven of significance | * More than 30 bushfires burning, seven of significance |
| * 8,000 hectares burned | * 8,000 hectares burned |
| * One home confirmed destroyed | * One home confirmed destroyed |
| AAP has put together a wrap of the bushfire season so far. | AAP has put together a wrap of the bushfire season so far. |
| Australia’s catastrophic 2019 bushfire season at a glance: | Australia’s catastrophic 2019 bushfire season at a glance: |
| NSW | NSW |
| * 15 lives lost, four in the past 24 hours | * 15 lives lost, four in the past 24 hours |
| * Two people remain missing | * Two people remain missing |
| * More than 100 bushfires burning | * More than 100 bushfires burning |
| * 3.6 million hectares burned, greater than the size of Belgium | * 3.6 million hectares burned, greater than the size of Belgium |
| * 1,087 homes confirmed destroyed | * 1,087 homes confirmed destroyed |
| VICTORIA | VICTORIA |
| * One person dead, four more missing | * One person dead, four more missing |
| * More than 40 bushfires of significance burning | * More than 40 bushfires of significance burning |
| * More than 500,000 hectares burned | * More than 500,000 hectares burned |
| * 68 structures confirmed destroyed but this number is expected to rise significantly | * 68 structures confirmed destroyed but this number is expected to rise significantly |
| SOUTH AUSTRALIA | SOUTH AUSTRALIA |
| * Two lives lost | * Two lives lost |
| * About 20 bushfires burning, seven of significance | * About 20 bushfires burning, seven of significance |
| * More than 60,000 hectares burned | * More than 60,000 hectares burned |
| * More than 90 homes confirmed destroyed | * More than 90 homes confirmed destroyed |
| Tex Perkins has been in the news today for his dedication to the prime minister during last night’s New Year’s Eve celebrations. | Tex Perkins has been in the news today for his dedication to the prime minister during last night’s New Year’s Eve celebrations. |
| He’s also putting on this: | He’s also putting on this: |