By Jill Fraser
MELBOURNE, Australia
South Australia’s worst bush fires in more than 30 years have forced thousands of residents to flee their homes, local media reported Saturday.
The state’s top firefighter compared the blazes to the 1983 ‘Ash Wednesday’ fires that claimed more than 70 lives.
“Residents in the Adelaide Hills are being confronted by a fire of the likes that hasn’t been seen since the 1983 bush fires of Ash Wednesday,” South Australian Country Fire Service’s Chief Officer Greg Nettleton said, according to broadcaster 9News.
As temperatures reached above 100F (40C) and wind gusts exceeded 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour), dozens of homes in the Adelaide Hills, northeast of the state capital Adelaide, are believed destroyed by the fires.
State Premier Jay Weatherill urged people to evacuate areas threatened by fires burning out of control for a second day.
“It could be a catastrophic decision to leave late,” Weatherill told a press conference. “We’re dealing with an incredibly dangerous fire.”
Firefighters say they are battling a massive series of infernos burning erratically in all directions that have destroyed 25,000 acres (10,000 hectares) and are now threatening 19 communities lying less than 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Adelaide city center.
South Australian Police Commissioner Gary Burns declared the bush fires a major emergency for 14 days, allowing police to use powers such as forced evictions, ABC News reported.
Thousands of firefighters have been tackling the conflagrations since Friday afternoon. At least seven have been treated for minor injuries, mostly caused by smoke inhalation.
The service deployed more than 100 fire engines and 14 aircraft, including two firefighting planes.
SBS television reported Ian Tanner, an official with the state fire service, as telling residents: "There is not a fire service anywhere in the world that could put this fire out at the moment."
The fires were reportedly started at an incinerator at Sampson Flat in the Southern Mount Lofty Ranges, north of Adelaide.
The state fire service described a 'Catherine wheel' formation of "incredibly dangerous" fires.
In a warning to residents, the service said: “Take shelter before the fire arrives as radiant heat can kill you well before the flames reach you."
Nettleton said the fire might not be brought under control until early next week, adding that lightning had sparked new blazes.
"It will be affected by south-westerly winds through tonight which means the fire will travel in a north-easterly direction,” he said. "We'll be working very hard to try and get that fire secured before hot and windy conditions that are anticipated on Wednesday.”
The Ash Wednesday fires -- named because the disaster began on the first day of Lent, known as Ash Wednesday in the Christian calendar -- caused 75 deaths across South Australia and neighboring Victoria.
It was the worst recorded bush fire recorded in Australia until the Black Saturday fires in 2009 killed 173 in Victoria.
Fires were also threatening Victoria on Saturday, with the state’s firefighters battling 320 fires over a 30-hour period.
Victoria Country Fire Authority implored residents to make sure they are prepared for a “long, hot fire season.”
Dry conditions and high temperatures combine to make bush fires a regular threat during the summer in the south of Australia.
www.aa.com.tr/en
