Current:Home > MyWildfire destroys 3 homes in southeastern Australia and a man is injured by a falling tree-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Wildfire destroys 3 homes in southeastern Australia and a man is injured by a falling tree
View Date:2024-12-24 00:10:32
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Three homes were destroyed by a forest fire and a man was injured by a falling tree in the Bega Valley region of southeastern Australia, prompting a government leader to warn on Wednesday that a “horror” wildfire season was approaching.
Scores of wildfires have recently raged across the states of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania as Australia’s driest September on record and unusually warm weather have brought an early start to the annual wildfire season, which peaks during the Southern Hemisphere summer.
Three homes were destroyed Tuesday night by a fire that threatened several Bega Valley communities and razed more than 5,200 hectares (12,800 acres). A man aged in his 40s was taken to a hospital in stable condition after a tree fell on his car on Wednesday morning, officials said.
Widespread rain across Australia’s southeast eased the fire danger on Wednesday and brought flood warnings to parts of Victoria.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said firefighters in the Bega Valley, 420 kilometers (260 miles) south of the state capital Sydney, had had a “hellish 24 hours.”
Although it was early spring in Australia, much of New South Wales has been experiencing mid-summer conditions for days at a time, Minns said.
“Be prepared. Be prepared for a horror summer,” Minns told reporters during an inspection of the fire zone with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The Rural Fire Service said the Bega Valley fire had yet to be contained by late Wednesday, but was no longer threatening lives or property.
Rural Fire Service Commissioner Rob Rogers said property losses in the Bega Valley could have been far higher without the efforts of hundreds of firefighters.
“The fire season is absolutely here and we need to take this seriously,” Rogers told reporters.
Three years ago, the Bega Valley lost more than 400 homes during the catastrophic Black Summer fires of 2019-20.
Experts predict the approaching wildfire season will be the most destructive since the fires that summer killed 33 people, destroyed more than 3,000 homes and razed 19 million hectares (47 million acres).
Those fires culminated in 2019, which was Australia’s hottest and driest year on second.
Three successive La Nina weather patterns since then have brought wetter and milder summers. But a current El Nino weather event is bringing hotter and drier conditions to Australia’s populous southeast.
South of the New South Wales border, residents of eastern Victoria communities were told on Wednesday to evacuate their homes because of the flood risk from rising rivers.
A day earlier, some of the same communities had been threatened by wildfires.
Heavy rain on Wednesday was forecast to continue across Victoria on Thursday.
veryGood! (522)
Related
- Biden funded new factories and infrastructure projects, but Trump might get to cut the ribbons
- Convicted sex offender who hacked jumbotron at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ stadium gets 220 years
- U.N. Security Council passes resolution demanding immediate Hamas-Israel war cease-fire, release of hostages
- Francis Scott Key Bridge reconstruction should be paid for by federal government, Biden says
- See Megan Fox, Machine Gun Kelly, Brian Austin Green and Sharna Burgess' Blended Family Photos
- 5 takeaways from the abortion pill case before the U.S. Supreme Court
- A shake, then 'there was nothing there': Nearby worker details Baltimore bridge collapse
- Kia invests in new compact car even though the segment is shrinking as Americans buy SUVs and trucks
- South Carolina to take a break from executions for the holidays
- Convicted sex offender who hacked jumbotron at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ stadium gets 220 years
Ranking
- Justine Bateman feels like she can breathe again in 'new era' after Trump win
- Nevada Supreme Court will take another look at Chasing Horse’s request to dismiss sex abuse charges
- Who owns the ship that struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore?
- Arnold Schwarzenegger gets a pacemaker, becomes 'a little bit more of a machine'
- Taylor Swift Becomes Auntie Tay In Sweet Photo With Fellow Chiefs WAG Chariah Gordon's Daughter
- Should college essays touch on race? Some feel the affirmative action ruling leaves them no choice
- Biden administration approves the nation’s seventh large offshore wind project
- RFK Jr. threatens to sue Nevada over ballot access
Recommendation
-
Wall Street makes wagers on the likely winners and losers in a second Trump term
-
South Carolina has $1.8 billion but doesn’t know where the money came from or where it should go
-
Lego moves to stop police from using toy's emojis to cover suspects faces on social media
-
Convicted sex offender who hacked jumbotron at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ stadium gets 220 years
-
Utah AD Mark Harlan fined $40,000 for ripping referees and the Big 12 after loss to BYU
-
Costco food court: If you aren't a member it may mean no more $1.50 hot dogs for you
-
Utah women's basketball team experienced 'racial hate crimes' during NCAA Tournament
-
Debunked: Aldi's bacon is not grown in a lab despite conspiracies on social media