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Wildfires Burn Across Eastern Australia in Sweltering Heat Wave - The New York Times

Wildfires Burn Across Eastern Australia in Sweltering Heat Wave

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An undated photo released by Queensland Fire and Emergency Services showing fires north of Bundaberg in northeastern Australia.CreditCreditQueensland Fire and Emergency Service, via Associated Press

More than 100 wildfires burned across Queensland in eastern Australia on Thursday, the second day of evacuations and rapidly changing conditions affecting thousands of people during a sweltering heat wave.

Conditions improved on Thursday, but residents remain in danger as the heat wave is expected to continue for days, said Annastacia Palaszczuk, Queensland’s premier.

On Wednesday, when there were as many as 190 fires, the government rated the danger “catastrophic” for the first time in the state’s history. Schools were closed and there were scattered reports of property damage, but there were no immediate reports of any deaths.

“What we experienced yesterday was off the charts,” Ms. Palaszczuk said Thursday. “No one has ever recorded these kinds of conditions ever in the history of Queensland.”

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Rhonda Anderson fleeing the fires with her horse near Mount Larcom on Wednesday.CreditDan Peled/EPA, via Shutterstock

In Gracemere, by the eastern coast, residents were ordered to evacuate within hours on Wednesday. They were allowed to return on Thursday after firefighters succeeded in saving the town’s homes.

“Evacuating a town of eight and a half thousand people in just over a couple of hours is pretty extraordinary,” Ms. Palaszczuk said. “Everyone listened, everyone got out, and thankfully everyone is safe.”

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Firefighters refilling their water supply from a tanker in the Deepwater National Park area of Queensland on Wednesday.CreditRob Griffith/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Elsewhere, the authorities woke up 50 residents in Campwin Beach at 2 a.m. Thursday and forced them to evacuate, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“It was just heat and people running up the street and it was just crazy,” said Vicky Crichton, a resident.

As fires spread on Thursday, the Queensland police and fire services used Twitter and Facebook to frequently update residents on the paths of often unpredictable fires. They occasionally instructed residents of certain communities to “LEAVE NOW” or “LEAVE IMMEDIATELY.”

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Jeanette Schwindt inspecting the damage to her property on Thursday after bush fires swept through Mount Larcom the day before.CreditDan Peled/EPA, via Shutterstock

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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/29/world/australia/queensland-wildfires-photos.html

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