Photograph by Jo Giuliani, European Pressphoto Agency
Smoke from a wildfire mushrooms over a beach in Forcett, Tasmania, on January 4. (See more wildfire pictures.)
Wildfires have engulfed southeastern Australia, including the island state of Tasmania, in recent days, fueled by dry conditions and temperatures as high as 113ºF (45ºC), the Associated Press reported. (Read "Australia's Dry Run" inNational Geographic magazine.)
No deaths have been reported, though a hundred people are unaccounted for in the town of Dunalley, where the blazes destroyed 90 homes.
"You don't get conditions worse than this," New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told the AP.
"We are at the catastrophic level, and clearly in those areas leaving early is your safest option."
Published January 8, 2013
Pictures: Wildfires Scorch Australia Amid Record Heat
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Pictures: Wildfires Scorch Australia Amid Record Heat
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Pictures: Wildfires Scorch Australia Amid Record Heat
