Australian PM calls out reserves as wildfire death toll climbs to 23

SYDNEY (AP) — A father and son who have been battling flames for two days today became the latest victims of the worst wildfire season in Australian history.

Dick Lang, 78, an acclaimed bush pilot and outback safari operator, and his 43-year-old son, Clayton, were identified by Australian authorities after their bodies were found Saturday on a highway on Kangaroo Island.

Twenty-three people have now died in the wildfire crisis, Prime Minister Scott Morrison disclosed after he announced that some 3,000 reservists had been called out to battle the escalating fires, which are expected to be particularly fierce throughout the weekend.

“We are facing another extremely difficult next 24 hours,” Morrison said at a televised news conference.

“In recent times, particularly over the course of the balance of this week, we have seen this disaster escalate to an entirely new level.”

Relatives of the two men were “heartbroken” by the double tragedy.

Authorities revealed that approximately 3,600 firefighters were battling blazes across New South Wales state.

Power outages were also reported in some areas as fires downed transmissions lines and residents were warned that the worst may be yet to come.

“We are now in a position where we are saying to people it’s not safe to move, it’s not safe to leave these areas,” state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters.

“We are in for a long night and I make no bones about that. We are still yet to hit the worst of it.”

Morrison said the Governor General had signed off on the calling up of reserves “to search and bring every possible capability to bear by deploying army brigades to fire-affected communities.”

According to Defense Minister Linda Reynolds, this marked the first time that reservists have been called up “in this way in living memory.”

“In fact, I believe for the first time in our nation’s history.”

The deadly wildfires, which have been raging since September, have already burned about 12.35 million acres of land and destroyed more than 1,500 homes.

The early and devastating start to Australia’s summer wildfires has also been catastrophic for the country’s wildlife, likely killing nearly 500 million birds, reptiles and mammals in New South Wales alone, Sydney University ecologist Chris Dickman told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Frogs, bats and insects are excluded from his estimate, an indication that the toll on animals could be much greater.

The fire danger increased as temperatures rose to record levels across Australia, surpassing 109 degrees Fahrenheit in Canberra, the capital, and reaching a record-high of 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the western suburb of Penrith.

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