Thousands of Australian residents and tourists are being forced to flee to its southeastern shore amid the wildfires decimating much of the country, news outlets reported Tuesday.
Evacuees faced apocalyptic scenes as they took to the beaches to avoid the flames in the states of Victoria and New South Wales after the warmest decade on record, according to The New York Times. Thousands were left in evacuation centers, and tens of thousands of others were without power.
Approximately 4,000 people escaped to the beaches into the water in Mallacoota, a family camping spot, while hundreds of families left their homes in Batemans Bay, New South Whales, on Tuesday, CNN reported.
Batemans Bay residents are now evacuating to the beach, these are the scene captured a short time ago.
The death toll has risen to at least 11 after a volunteer firefighter and a father and son died in New South Whales, according to the Times. Four people are missing in Victoria, CNN reported.
ADVERTISEMENT
The fires began over the weekend due to dry lightning and were intensified by high winds and hot weather. A total of 100 fires were burning in New South Whales on Tuesday, with 60 percent still needing to be contained. In Victoria, 70 new fires erupted Monday, and 20 of those are still active, according to CNN.
Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said 200,000 hectares have already been burned across the state, reportedly calling it a "dynamic and dangerous situation." Crisp added some communities are isolated and food packs and supplies are being put together to send.
Meteorologists expect the weather to improve in the next 24 hours but then worsen again by the end of the work.
Sydney, which has experienced heavy smoke from the fires, still put on its annual fireworks show for New Year’s Eve, despite a Change.org petition calling for the displays cancellation.
Idyllic coastal towns packed with tourists planning to ring in 2020 were cast in apocalyptic red on Tuesday, as smoke blotted out the sun.
In the town of Mallacoota, which lies on the easternmost edge of the state of Victoria and is a well-known family camping spot, around 4,000 people fled to beaches, authorities said.
"There's no way in or out," Mallacoota resident Jason Selmes told CNN after evacuating his home.
Another tourist, Ida Dempsey and her family from Melbourne, fled to their boat which was moored about 200 meters (656 feet) from the shore.
Dozens of fires continue to burn out of control in the states of Victoria and New South Wales (NSW). Thousands more people were forced to evacuate their homes along the NSW coast on Tuesday, which is dotted with small beach towns popular with holiday-makers over the Christmas season.
In Batemans Bay, NSW, hundreds of families fled their homes Tuesday under an eerie orange sky. "It was like we were in hell," vacationer Zoe Simmons told CNN. "We were all covered in ash."
Meanwhile, across Victoria, over 200,000 hectares have already been burnt in the fires, according to the state's Emergency Management Commissioner, Andrew Crisp. He warned: "It is still a dynamic and dangerous situation."
There is, however, a glimmer of hope. Weather conditions are expected to improve in the next 24 hours -- meaning cooler temperatures and lower winds -- but will worsen again by the end of the week, bringing dangerous fire conditions, according to CNN meteorologists.
By Tuesday evening, some people were even returning to their homes, according to Victoria's Country Fire Authority Chief, Steve Warrington, though he added that "a number of houses" in are believed to be destroyed or damaged.
Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said some communities in the state remain isolated, and food packs and other supplies are being organized for transport. Emergency crews are still working to determine the extent of damage by air, but suggest significant property loss across the East Gippsland region, he said.
Father and son among dead
The death toll continues to creep up from the fires, including a father and son in the NSW town of Cobargo on Tuesday. Four more people are unaccounted for in Victoria.
A volunteer firefighter who died on Monday, while working in the Green Valley, was named on Tuesday as 28-year-old Samuel McPaul. He leaves behind his wife, who is pregnant with their first child, after the truck he was in rolled in high winds, according to the state's Rural Fire Service.
The country relies heavily on its volunteer firefighters, who in some cases have been putting in 16-hour days to help tackle the blazes.
Earlier this week Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who cut short a family holiday in Hawaii to deal with the fire crisis, announced the government would be authorizing payments of up to $6,000 (US$4,200) for volunteer fire fighters "where they have been called out for extended periods of service."
There is a nationwide fire crisis
Fires have devastated parts of Australia for months. Across Victoria, 70 new fires started on Monday, of which more than 20 are still active. In the neighboring state of NSW there are more than 100 fires burning on Tuesday, of which 60 are yet to be contained.
Many of the fires were started on Sunday by dry lightning, and rapidly spread due to strong winds and hot, dry weather.
More than 900 homes have been destroyed in NSW since the start of the fire season, and that number will likely increase as firefighters struggle to contain the massive fires.
NSW and Victoria are some of the hardest-hit locations, but there have been fires occurring in every state across Australia as weather conditions worsen.
State and federal authorities have activated emergency resources and deployed thousands of firefighters since the fire season began in early September. The Australian Defence Force has sent assistance to multiple states, including air force aircraft and army personnel.The United States, Canada, and New Zealand have also sent additional firefighters to help.
Fireworks will go ahead
For weeks, Sydney has been shrouded in smoke from bushfires, leading to calls to cancel the city's famed New Year's eve fireworks.
Despite more than a quarter of a million people signing an online petition calling for the annual display to be scrapped, the event will go ahead.
The Change.org petition said the funds that would normally be spent on the dazzling firework display should be redistributed towards the firefighting efforts.
But Sydney's Lord Mayor Clover Moore said: "Our fireworks are planned 15 months in advance and most of the budget -- which is largely allocated to crowd safety and cleaning measures -- has already been spent."
Residents watch the developing conditions near the town of Sussex Inlet on Dec. 31, in Sydney.
There are a number of dangerous bushfires burning at emergency level across NSW as weather conditions deteriorate with temperatures expected to rise ahead of gusty southerly change. Princes Highway on the NSW South Coast has been closed with motorists told to avoid all non essential travel.
This timed-exposure image shows firefighters hosing down trees as they battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra in New South Wales on Dec. 31. - Thousands of holidaymakers and locals were forced to flee to beaches in fire-ravaged southeast Australia on Dec. 31, as blazes ripped through popular tourist areas leaving no escape by land.
A firefighter speaks to a resident trying to hose down her home in the hope of saving it from nearby bushfires around the town of Nowra in New South Wales on Dec. 31.
A New South Wales Police officer prepares to flee his roadblock on the Princes Highway near the town of Sussex Inlet on Dec. 31, in Sydney.
Firefighters conduct property protection near the town of Sussex Inlet on Dec. 31, in Sydney.
Commuters are seen as a Rural Fire Service helicopter lands on the Princes Highway near the town of Sussex Inlet on Dec. 31, in Sydney.
Smoke and flames rise from burning trees as bushfires hit the area around the town of Nowra in New South Wales on Dec. 31.
A truck driver prepares to move his vehicle through a roadblock bypass on the Princes Highway near the town of Sussex Inlet on Dec. 31, in Sydney.
Smoke from bushfires rises high into the air as fires hit the area around the town of Nowra in New South Wales on Dec. 31.
A skycrane drops water on a bushfire in scrub behind houses in Bundoora, Melbourne, on Dec. 30. New Year’s Eve fireworks in Australia’s capital and other cities have been canceled as the wildfire danger worsens in oppressive summer heat; and pressure is building for Sydney’s iconic celebrations to be similarly scrapped.
An aerial scene shows fires burning and smoke rising close to properties in Bundoora, Victoria state, on Dec. 30.
Australia Wildfires
The remains of a car that was destroyed by bushfires sits near a home in the town of Balmoral on Dec. 30, in Sydney. Firefighters have made the most of slightly cooler conditions over the weekend to contain bushfires burning across the state, however the fire danger is expected to rise due to increasing heat and winds. More than 1500 firefighters are currently battling more than 100 blazes across the NSW, with more than 30 fires still uncontained.
An aerial view of a bushfire in Ellerslie, New South Wales, on Dec. 30, in this still image obtained from social media video.
A home recently destroyed by bushfires can be seen near the town of Bilpin on Dec. 29, in Sydney, Australia.
Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Services (WIRES) volunteer and carer Tracy Burgess holds a severely burnt brushtail possum rescued from fires near Australia’s Blue Mountains, Dec. 29.
Tables and chairs are seen among debris at the Tutti Frutti cafe which was destroyed by bushfires in the town of Bilpin, 70 kms west of Sydney, on Dec. 29.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, second left, and New South Wales (NSW) Premier Gladys Berejiklian, third left, receive a briefing from Rural Fire Service (RFS) Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons, right, at the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) Headquarters in Sydney, on Dec. 29.
A sign is seen half burnt after bushfires ravaged the town of Bilpin, 70 kms west of Sydney, on Dec. 29.
A volunteer from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service works to extinguish spot fires following back burning operations in Mount Hay, in Blue Mountains, on Dec. 28.
In this image made from a video, smoke rises from wildfires, on Dec. 27, in the Blue Mountains, New South Whales.
A handout photo made available by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of a satellite image showing part of mainland Australia, on Dec. 26, where historic bushfires still rage in the southeastern states and territories, especially intense around the South Australian city of Adelaide, bottom left. Meanwhile, fires around Sydney have mostly been brought under control, but the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSWRFS) advised affected residents that weather conditions are forecast to deteriorate over the coming days.
In this image made from a video, an aerial scene shows a truck driving near fire burning in Harrogate, South Australia, on Dec. 25.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (R) speaks with a County Fire Service staff as he visits the Mount Barker South Australian County Fire Service headquarters in Mount Barker, on Dec. 24. Morrison is touring fire affected areas in South Australia.
Protesters cheer for firefighters as they rally outside as New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian meets with Rural Fire Service Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers at the Blue Mountains Fire Control Centre in Katoomba, on Dec. 23.
A view of a house damaged by recent catastrophic bushfires in the Southern Highlands village of Balmoral, New South Wales, on Dec. 23.
Rural Fire Service personnel hose down trees damaged by recent catastrophic bushfires in the Southern Highlands village of Balmoral, New South Wales, on Dec. 23.
In this image made from a video, a sign offers thanks and a Merry Christmas in a destroyed residential area by wildfire, on Dec. 23, in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales.
In this image made from video taken on Dec. 22, and provided by Oakbank Balhannah CFS, a koala drinks water from a bottle given by a firefighter in Cudlee Creek, South Australia. Around 200 wildfires were burning in four states, with New South Wales accounting for more than half of them, including 60 fires not contained.
Melissa O'Dwyer, whose husband Andrew O'Dwyer was killed while on duty as a volunteer firefighter, is hugged by a member of the Horsley Park Rural Fire Brigade on Dec. 22 in Sydney.
Tributes for volunteers Geoffrey Keaton and Andrew O'Dwyer are seen at Horsley Park Rural Fire Brigade on Dec. 22 in Sydney.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison talks to volunteers at he Picton Evacuation Centre on Dec. 22 in Picton.
In this image made from video taken and provided by NSW Rural Fire Service via their twitter account, a firefighter sprays water on a fire moving closer to a home in Blackheath, New South Wales state, on Dec. 22. Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday apologized for taking a family vacation in Hawaii as deadly bush fires raged across several states, destroying homes and claiming the lives of two volunteer firefighters.
A home is seen as smoke from the Grose Valley Fire rises in the distance, at Bilpin, on Dec. 21 New South Wales.
A fire burns at the side of a cliff in Blue Mountains, New South Waleson, Dec. 21.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Karen Webb talks to media at the NSW Rural Fire Service Headquarters on Dec. 21, in Sydney. A catastrophic fire danger warning has been issued for the greater Sydney region, the Illawarra and southern ranges as hot, windy conditions continue to hamper firefighting efforts across NSW. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a state of emergency on Thursday, the second state of emergency declared in NSW since the start of the bushfire season.
Horses in a paddock as the Gospers Mountain Fire impacts Bilpin, in the Blue Mountains, on Dec. 21. According to media reports, conditions are expected to worsen across much of the state as temperatures exceed 40 degrees Celsius.
A firefighting helicopter in action as the Grose Valley Fire approaches Bilpin, New South Wales, on Dec. 21.
A general view shows smoke from a bushfire near Gumeracha in the Adelaide Hills, on Dec. 21.
Smoke haze from bushfires blankets the Sydney central business district as beachgoers jump from a cliff in Nielsen Park during hot weather on Dec. 21.
Helicopters dump water on bushfires as they approach homes located on the outskirts of the town of Bargo on Dec. 21.
Staff work at the NSW Rural Fire Service State Operations Centre at the NSW Rural Fire Service Headquarters at Sydney Olympic Park on Dec. 21.
The sky is filled with smoke, and ash on Dec. 21, in Shoalhaven Heads.
Members of the Horsley Park RFS are seen at a memorial for volunteer firefighters who died when their fire truck was struck by a falling tree as it traveled through the front line of a fire, at the Horsley Park Rural Fire Brigade on Dec. 20, in Horsley Park, NSW.
A farmer uses a hose to douse flames as he drives a tractor in a burning paddock where a large bush fire burns near homes on the outskirts of the town of Bilpin on Dec. 19, in Sydney.
Fire and rescue personnel prepare to use a hose in an effort to extinguish a bush fire as it burns near homes on Dec. 19, in Sydney.
Rural Fire Service (RFS) crews engage in property protection of a number of homes along the Old Hume Highway on Dec. 19, in the southwest of Sydney.
Residents watch a large bushfire as seen from Bargo, 150km southwest of Sydney, on Dec. 19. A state of emergency was declared in Australia's most populated region as an unprecedented heatwave fanned out-of-control bushfires, destroying homes and smothering huge areas with a toxic smoke.
A helicopter drops fire retardant to protect a property in Balmoral, on Dec. 19.
A property burns from bushfires in Balmoral, on Dec. 19.
A tourist boat rides on the Harbour in thick smoke in Sydney, on Dec. 19.
50/50 SLIDES
Slideshow by photo services
Thousands of holidaymakers and locals were forced to flee to beaches in fire-ravaged southeast Australia Tuesday, as deadly blazes ripped through popular tourist areas and cut off several towns.
In fire-encircled seaside communities along a 200-kilometre (135-mile) strip of coast, terrified people -- wrapped in blankets and make-shift facemasks -- sought refuge near the water.
Some with boats even took to the sea in near-darkness, hoping to find safety, as one of the worst days yet in Australia's months-long bushfire crisis prompted the military to be deployed.
In a brutal 24 hours, three people have died, five more are unaccounted for, and scores of properties were feared destroyed as flames reached well-populated towns like Batemans Bay, normally bursting with visitors during Australia's summer holidays.
"We've got literally hundreds, thousands of people up and down the coast, taking refuge on the beaches" and in surf clubs, said Shane Fitzsimmons, commissioner of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.
"The roads are closed going west. The roads are closed going south. The roads are closed going north," he said, but added that a cool front had swept across the coast, "considerably" moderating many fires.
Still some four thousand people were trapped on the foreshore in the town of Mallacoota, where towering columns of smoke turned day to night and nearby fires caused waves of "ember attacks".
Victoria authorities said later Tuesday that Mallacoota and a nearby town remained cut off, but the life-threatening fire front had finally passed.
"I understand there was a public cheer down at the jetty when that was announced," said Steve Warrington of the Country Fire Authority, echoing a palpable sense of relief at the slightest good news.
In some places Tuesday's blazes were so intense, the smoke so thick and the fire-provoked dry lightning storms so severe that aerial reconnaissance and waterbombing had to be halted.
Australia's minister of defence said Linda Reynolds said three helicopters, one aircraft and two naval ships would be sent to the region.
The military is expected to conduct damage assessments and potentially provide those displaced with food, shelter and electricity and even evacuation.
More back-up has also been requested from firefighters in Canada and the United States.
Authorities said it likely that many of those trapped on the beaches would be forced to spend the night there.
The picture was barely better in inland rural communities, where countless more people were displaced and forced into make-shift camps.
Hundreds of "anxious and stressed and traumatised" people were gathered at Bega's showgrounds, said 44-year-old Beck Walker, who had been holidaying with her husband and two young sons when they heard sirens warning them to evacuate at around 4.30 am.
"We had to pack up and leave straight away," she told AFP. "It was pretty scary because the sky was red... By 7.30 am we thought it was still night because the sky had turned black."
- 'Ring of fire' -
Australia's unprecedented bushfires have been burning for months, but the latest in a series of heatwaves and high winds have wrought new devastation.
The crisis has also hit cities like Sydney and Melbourne, home to several million people.
On Monday, around 100,000 people had been urged to flee five Melbourne suburbs as the blaze bore down on homes just 16 kilometres (10 miles) from the centre of Australia's second-biggest city.
Sydney was again shrouded in toxic bushfire haze Tuesday. City officials said Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks would go ahead, but a similar event has been cancelled in Canberra and several regional towns.
A Rural Fire Service spokesman said a 28-year-old volunteer firefighter -- whose wife was due to give birth in May -- died Monday in New South Wales when a "fire tornado" picked up an eight-tonne truck "and flipped it over".
A 63-year-old man and his 29-year-old son died in the devastated town of Cobargo in the latest spasm of destruction Tuesday.
A helicopter dumps water on a bushfire in the outer suburbs of Melbourne
Bushfires have ravaged the town of Bilpin, west of Sydney
In some places the blazes were so intense, the smoke so thick so severe that aerial reconnaissance and waterbombing had to be halted
Distant bushfires light up the skies in the coastal town of Bermagui in New South Wales state
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has acknowledged a link between the fires and climate change but has continued his support of Australia's lucrative coal mining industry
Map of Victoria state of Australia showing the active fires as of December 31.
Residents and firefighters have been hosing down homes and land to stop the fires from spreading
7/7 SLIDES
Ten others, including two volunteer firefighters, have been killed so far this fire season.
The blazes have destroyed more than 1,000 homes and scorched well over three million hectares (7.4 million acres) -- an area bigger than Belgium.
The crisis has focused attention on climate change -- which scientists say is creating a longer and more intense bushfire season -- and sparked street protests.
While conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison belatedly acknowledged a link between the fires and climate change, he has continued his staunch support of Australia's lucrative coal mining industry or pay for exhausted volunteer firefighters.
Jenifer James, 64, said she had spent hours Tuesday working to protect her Bermagui home in semi-darkness and surrounded by a "ring of fire".
She said the political response to the disaster had been "very poor" and more needed to be done to support volunteer firefighters. "They are so bloody tired," she told AFP.
Early in the morning,about 4,000 residents and visitors were forced to leave their homes and vacation accommodation in Mallacoota, in the state of Victoria, authorities said.
The town activated its emergency siren warning of the imminent fire threat and residents headed to the seaside, following an evacuation plan previously outlined in community meetings.
"There's no way in or out," Mallacoota resident Jason Selmes told CNN after evacuating his home.
Thick smoke from the fires turned the morning sky pitch black. As the day wore on, the sky lightened to a bright orange, and the blazes began spreading through the town. Photographs from the ground showed homes burning and an approaching fire line.
Some people sought shelter in the sea. Ida Dempsey and her family were visiting from Melbourne, and evacuated to their boat, mooring about 200 meters (about 656 feet) from shore.
Three emergency strike teams were at the beach with the residents, and emergency services set up medical centers and safe evacuation locations, according to state agency Victoria Emergency.
Conditions became milder later in the afternoon, after a dangerous wind change bypassed the town. Country Fire Authority Chief Steve Warrington said it was "relatively good news," and that evacuees had cheered upon hearing the announcement.
Some people are now returning to their homes, while others remain on the beach. There are "a number of houses" believed to be destroyed or damaged, Warrington said.
However, the situation remains "dynamic and dangerous," and Warrington said there is still an emergency warning in place. A number of fires remain burning in the town and across the state that could spread across the East Gippsland region where Mallacoota is located. Warrington warned residents to stay aware of further alerts, and added that state authorities were still discussing potential evacuations.
Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said some communities in the state remain isolated, and food packs and other supplies are being organized for transport. Emergency crews are still working to determine the extent of damage by air, but suggest significant property loss across the East Gippsland region, he said.
Four people remain unaccounted for in Victoria with a "very real fear for their safety," state Premier Daniel Andrews said on Tuesday. He did not provide any further information on identities or exact locations.
Located in the far eastern corner of Victoria, East Gippsland is home to about 80,000 people, who are scattered across remote villages and towns. The region is popular with tourists, who go to see wildlife and hike in the national parks.
There is a nationwide fire crisis
As of Monday, there are more than 10 fires in the East Gippsland region alone, including three large ones that have been burning for more than a month, according to Victoria Emergency. Many of the fires were started on Sunday by dry lightning, and rapidly spread due to strong winds and hot, dry weather.
Weather conditions are expected to improve in the next 24 hours -- meaning cooler temperatures and lower winds -- but will worsen again by the end of the week, bringing dangerous fire conditions, according to CNN meteorologists.
Fires have devastated parts of Australia for months. Across Victoria, 70 new fires started on Monday, of which more than 20 are still active. In the neighboring state of New South Wales (NSW), there are more than 100 fires burning on Tuesday, of which 60 are yet to be contained.
The death toll has been slowly climbing. Two people were found dead Tuesday in the NSW town of Cobargo, with a third person still unaccounted for. On Monday, a 28-year-old volunteer firefighter died in NSW after strong winds rolled his truck over. Earlier in December, two other NSW volunteer firefighters died after their vehicle hit a tree during firefighting operations.
More than 900 homes have been destroyed in NSW since the start of the fire season, and that number will likely increase as firefighters struggle to contain the massive fires.
In Batemans Bay, NSW, hundreds of families were also evacuating their homes on Tuesday under an eerie orange sky. "It was like we were in hell," vacationer Zoe Simmons told CNN. "We were all covered in ash."
NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons warned there are thousands of people along the coast taking refuge with "a long, difficult, dangerous night ahead." He said that the fires on Tuesday spread faster and further than previously predicted, adding: "it's been a truly awful day."
NSW and Victoria are some of the hardest-hit locations, but there have been fires occurring in every state across Australia as weather conditions worsen.
State and federal authorities have activated emergency resources and deployed thousands of firefighters since the fire season began in early September. The Australian Defence Force has sent assistance to multiple states, including air force aircraft and army personnel.The United States, Canada, and New Zealand have also sent additional firefighters to help.
Early in the morning,about 4,000 residents and visitors were forced to leave their homes and vacation accommodation in Mallacoota, in the state of Victoria, authorities said.
The town activated its emergency siren warning of the imminent fire threat and residents headed to the seaside, following an evacuation plan previously outlined in community meetings.
"There's no way in or out," Mallacoota resident Jason Selmes told CNN after evacuating his home.
Thick smoke from the fires turned the morning sky pitch black. As the day wore on, the sky lightened to a bright orange, and the blazes began spreading through the town. Photographs from the ground showed homes burning and an approaching fire line.
Some people sought shelter in the sea. Ida Dempsey and her family were visiting from Melbourne, and evacuated to their boat, mooring about 200 meters (about 656 feet) from shore.
Three emergency strike teams were at the beach with the residents, and emergency services set up medical centers and safe evacuation locations, according to state agency Victoria Emergency.
Conditions became milder later in the afternoon, after a dangerous wind change bypassed the town. Country Fire Authority Chief Steve Warrington said it was "relatively good news," and that evacuees had cheered upon hearing the announcement.
Some people are now returning to their homes, while others remain on the beach. There are "a number of houses" believed to be destroyed or damaged, Warrington said.
However, the situation remains "dynamic and dangerous," and Warrington said there is still an emergency warning in place. A number of fires remain burning in the town and across the state that could spread across the East Gippsland region where Mallacoota is located. Warrington warned residents to stay aware of further alerts, and added that state authorities were still discussing potential evacuations.
Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said some communities in the state remain isolated, and food packs and other supplies are being organized for transport. Emergency crews are still working to determine the extent of damage by air, but suggest significant property loss across the East Gippsland region, he said.
Four people remain unaccounted for in Victoria with a "very real fear for their safety," state Premier Daniel Andrews said on Tuesday. He did not provide any further information on identities or exact locations.
Located in the far eastern corner of Victoria, East Gippsland is home to about 80,000 people, who are scattered across remote villages and towns. The region is popular with tourists, who go to see wildlife and hike in the national parks.
There is a nationwide fire crisis
As of Monday, there are more than 10 fires in the East Gippsland region alone, including three large ones that have been burning for more than a month, according to Victoria Emergency. Many of the fires were started on Sunday by dry lightning, and rapidly spread due to strong winds and hot, dry weather.
Weather conditions are expected to improve in the next 24 hours -- meaning cooler temperatures and lower winds -- but will worsen again by the end of the week, bringing dangerous fire conditions, according to CNN meteorologists.
Fires have devastated parts of Australia for months. Across Victoria, 70 new fires started on Monday, of which more than 20 are still active. In the neighboring state of New South Wales (NSW), there are more than 100 fires burning on Tuesday, of which 60 are yet to be contained.
The death toll has been slowly climbing. Two people were found dead Tuesday in the NSW town of Cobargo, with a third person still unaccounted for. On Monday, a 28-year-old volunteer firefighter died in NSW after strong winds rolled his truck over. Earlier in December, two other NSW volunteer firefighters died after their vehicle hit a tree during firefighting operations.
More than 900 homes have been destroyed in NSW since the start of the fire season, and that number will likely increase as firefighters struggle to contain the massive fires.
In Batemans Bay, NSW, hundreds of families were also evacuating their homes on Tuesday under an eerie orange sky. "It was like we were in hell," vacationer Zoe Simmons told CNN. "We were all covered in ash."
NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons warned there are thousands of people along the coast taking refuge with "a long, difficult, dangerous night ahead." He said that the fires on Tuesday spread faster and further than previously predicted, adding: "it's been a truly awful day."
NSW and Victoria are some of the hardest-hit locations, but there have been fires occurring in every state across Australia as weather conditions worsen.
State and federal authorities have activated emergency resources and deployed thousands of firefighters since the fire season began in early September. The Australian Defence Force has sent assistance to multiple states, including air force aircraft and army personnel.The United States, Canada, and New Zealand have also sent additional firefighters to help.
Tens of thousands of residents and people on vacation were urged to evacuate Sunday, as authorities had forecast that several factors could make it an incredibly dangerous day in terms of fire risk.
"The extreme fire dangers, the strong winds that were forecast, and the very hot temperatures have all come as we thought," Andrew Tupper of the Victoria Bureau of Meteorology said at a news conference on Monday.
Several emergency warnings have been put in place throughout Victoria, meaning people in those areas are in "imminent danger," according to Victoria Emergency. Victoria Emergency have issued several warnings on Twitter telling people in a handful of villages in remote parts of the state "it is too late to leave" and advising them to stay inside.
The Australia Bureau of Meteorology said that fires in the region "exhibited very dangerous behavior overnight" that are "likely to worsen today."
East Gippsland is expected to be one of the areas most affected. Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said a number of new fires broke out there Monday, and conditions aren't expected to improve until midnight local time.
"We have been telling people for more than 24 hours East Gippsland is at significant risk," Crisp said at a briefing Monday. "You should not be on the roads."
Located in the far eastern corner of Victoria, East Gippsland is home to about 80,000 people, who are scattered across remote villages and towns. The region is popular with tourists, who go to see wildlife and hike in the national parks.
A fire in nearby Mallacoota also has authorities worried. Crisp said the blaze began Sunday afternoon, and as winds changed direction it quickly shifted directions and traveled some 24 kilometers (15 miles) in about four hours, he said. The smoke columns from the fire rose some 14 kilometers (9 miles) high, and have begun generating their own weather systems.
"There's lightning coming out of these columns," he said.
Australia has dealt with a series of fires this summer that authorities have described as historic, unprecedented and "catastrophic." The deadly blazes have largely been caused by record-breaking heat and dry conditions.
Monday in Victoria was forecast to be particularly bad. The dry conditions, high temperatures -- parts of the state could reach above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) -- strong winds and thunderstorms all combine to greatly increase the risk of existing fires spreading or new ones sparking, Victoria Emergency said.
Lightning started 16 blazes in the state on Sunday, CNN affiliate 7 News reported.
A change in wind direction is forecast on Monday night, which could bring a drop in temperatures, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology reported. However, more thunderstorms are also forecast, carrying the threat of "damaging" and "destructive" winds.
Fires are also burning in the neighboring state of South Australia, where some areas are experiencing "catastrophic fire danger," the highest warning on the scale, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
Petition to cancel fireworks
For weeks, the New South Wales capital of Sydney has been shrouded in smoke from fires burning across the state -- leading to calls for the city's famed New Year's Eve fireworks to be canceled.
NSW has been the hardest hit by the prolonged fire season, and conditions there are also expected to deteriorate over the next two days.
One volunteer firefighter was killed in New South Wales on Monday, while two others suffered burns battling the same fire, the NSW Rural Fire Service said. It is believed the firefighters were in a truck when their truck rolled over in the high winds, the agency said on Twitter.
Sydney's annual fireworks display was approved Monday, according to the NSW Rural Fire Service, despite more than a quarter of a million people signing a petition asking the government toredistribute fireworks show funds towards firefighting efforts.
Sydney's Lord Mayor Clover Moore said she had "been moved by the outpouring of support and care for the community," but theevent would continue as planned.
"Our fireworks are planned 15 months in advance and most of the budget -- which is largely allocated to crowd safety and cleaning measures -- has already been spent," she said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Sunday the celebration should go ahead because it is "important to send a message to the world."
"Subject to the safety considerations, I can think of no better time to express to the world just how optimistic and positive we are as a country," he said.
John Barilaro, the deputy premier of NSW, tweeted on Monday that the fireworks should be canceled.
"The risk is too high and we must respect our exhausted (Rural Fire Service) volunteers. If regional areas have had fireworks banned, then let's not have two classes of citizens. We're all in this crisis together," he said.
CNN's Chandler Thornton and Lauren Said-Moorhouse contributed to this report
