Raging wildfires trap 4,000 at waterfront

PERTH (AP):

Wildfires burning across Australia’s two most populous states Tuesday trapped residents of a seaside town in apocalyptic conditions and killed at least two people while more property along the country’s east coast fell victim to a devastating fire season.

About 4,000 residents in the southeastern town of Mallacoota in Victoria state fled towards the water Tuesday morning as winds pushed an emergency-level wildfire in the direction of their homes. Smoke filling the sky shrouded the town in darkness before turning an unnerving shade of bright red.

Australia’s annual wildfire season, which peaks during the Southern Hemisphere summer, started early after an unusually warm and dry winter. Record-breaking heat and windy conditions triggered devastating wildfires in New South Wales and Queensland states in September.

About five million hectares (12.35 million acres) of land have burned nationwide over the past few months, with 12 people confirmed dead and more than 1,000 homes destroyed. Nearly 100 fires were burning across the state of New South Wales, which is home to Sydney.

New South Wales state Rural Fire Services Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said that this wildfire season is the worst on record and painted a bleak long-term picture.

“We’ve seen extraordinary fire behaviour,” he said Tuesday. “What we really need is meaningful rain, and we haven’t got anything in the forecast at the moment that says we’re going to get drought-breaking or fire-quenching rainfall.”

The wildfire crisis has reignited debate about whether Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s conservative government has taken enough action on climate change. Australia is the world’s largest exporter of coal and liquefied natural gas.

The prime minister took criticism for going on a family vacation to Hawaii in December during the crisis. He eventually cut his trip short and publicly apologised.