Here’s what you need to know:
Australia fears Saturday will be the worst day yet.
Hundreds of people who had spent days trapped by fires along a beach in the town of Mallacoota reached safety more than 300 miles away on Saturday morning, after a 20-hour trip on a naval ship.
Others had stayed behind, even as Australian officials across three states urged anyone who could leave to do so. By Saturday, numerous towns along Australia’s eastern and southeastern coasts were ringed by fire. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said 3,000 reservists from the Australian military would be called in to help.
This is already one of the worst wildfire seasons Australia has ever endured, and by all measures, Saturday was expected to be even more extreme. High winds and temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit were likely to exacerbate fires already raging out of control. Officials in the state of New South Wales said they expected to lose more houses over the weekend.
The toll so far: 20 deaths, more than 1,300 homes destroyed, countless animals killed and tens of thousands of acres of national park and forest land burned.
Weary but thankful, fire evacuees reach a safer shore.
After 20 hours aboard the MV Sycamore, the naval ship that rescued her from the fire-ravaged town of Mallacoota on Australia’s southeastern coast, all Darcy Brown wanted was to take a shower.
Ms. Brown, 16, and her family had only recently moved to Mallacoota when, on New Year’s Eve, fire that turned the sky “red one minute” and “black the next” tore through the town, razing their new home (and making Ms. Brown’s asthma even worse). Many people fled to the shore, where they camped on the beach or slept in boats.
It was “devastating,” Ms. Brown said on Saturday morning in Somerville, where she and about 60 others had been taken by the Australian Navy after landing at the nearby port of Hastings.
Ms. Brown and other evacuees said they were weary but thankful to be safely ashore. People streamed off buses, some carrying just a few belongings, others with dogs on leashes. One man stepped off a bus, embraced a woman who had come to meet him, and sobbed.
About 1,100 more people were expected to arrive from Mallacoota on a larger ship, the HMAS Choules, later Saturday.
We Want to Hear From You
As fires continue to rage in southeast Australia, we are hoping to hear from residents and tourists there about how they’re managing.
Not everyone is willing to leave.
Not everyone obeyed the evacuation orders, and for many of those people, officials say it is now too late to leave. “Seek shelter as the fire approaches,” the Rural Fire Service of New South Wales warned people in or near the communities of Peak View, Numerella and Countegany on Saturday.
Rob Rogers, deputy commissioner for the Rural Fire Service, had issued a grim warning on Friday: If you choose to stay, don’t expect help.
“We’ve been very honest about the risk, but if people choose to stay, that’s on them,” he said at a news briefing. “Do not expect there to be a fire truck when you ring.”
David Rowland, of Batemans Bay, is among those staying put. He has already felt the heat of the fires once, as he secured a storage shed filled with personal belongings on New Year’s Eve.
“The fire got louder and louder and louder, and then the main smoke came and it went dark in the middle of the day,” he said. “Aside from the huge red glow from the fire, everything was dark, and it feels like the air itself is going to combust.” He drove away as fast as he could.
He said Batemans Bay was like a ghost town now that the tourists had left. But the power was back on, and he said he had enough supplies to see out the fires. He intends to spend Saturday night on his boat.
“I have the sea here,” he said. “There’s no way in the world I’ll drive anywhere. I feel like I’m safe right here.”
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January 04, 2020 at 11:06AM
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Australia Fire Updates: Spreading Fires, Rising Heat and Strong Winds - The New York Times
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