Raging wildfires kill at least 14 in Australia
SYDNEY – Walls of flame roared across southeastern Australia on Saturday, razing scores of homes along with forests and farmland in the sunburned country's worst wildfire disaster in a quarter century. At least 14 people died and the toll could rise to more than 40, police said.
Witnesses described seeing trees exploding and skies raining ash as some of the hottest temperatures on record combined with raging winds to create perfect conditions for uncontrollable blazes.
More than 30,000 firefighters were struggling Saturday night to make headway against the largest of about a dozen fires in Victoria state that earlier in the day ripped unchecked across at least 115 square miles (30,000 hectares) of forests, farmland and towns.
"The whole township is pretty much on fire," Peter Mitchell, a resident of Kinglake, where six of the 14 confirmed deaths occurred, told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio during the inferno. "There was no time to do anything ... it came through in minutes."
Victorian Premier John Brumby, whose parents' house was among those saved by firefighters Saturday, said the death toll was expected to rise "considerably."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090207/...alia_wildfires
Sat Feb 7, 11:07 AM ET