Australia is dealing with destructive wildfires across the state. Firefighters are working hard to fight a major blaze that stretches 190 miles near the town of Lithgow.
The fires have killed one, destroyed 208 homes and damaged another 122 since Thursday according to the Associated Press. It doesn't seem like it will end soon either as high temperatures and winds are likely to keep the fire going on for several days in New South Wales state.
Firefighters took advantage of a period of milder conditions to kill fires that had erupted around Sydney. The reduced the number of fires from 100 on Thursday to 61 on Sunday, Rural Fire Service spokesman Matt Sun told the AP.
Of these fires, 15 were burning out of control. Among the most dangerous is a blaze near Lithgow, west of Sydney, which received the highest danger ranking. It is expected that the fire will continue for several days and nearby communities have been advised to evacuate as weather conditions worsen.
According to Sun, temperatures were more than 77 degrees Fahrenheit, while winds reached 12 miles per hour and humidity dropped to 30 percent.
"It's not as dire as it could be, but it's certainly challenging work for firefighters and expected to get worse," Sun told AP.
There is an ongoing investigation by the Defense Department to determine if there is a connection between the Lithgow fire that broke out on Wednesday and military training exercises that include explosives at a range nearby.
"Defense is investigating if the two events are linked," the department said according to AP.
Fire authorities are also investigating other possible causes of the fires. Arson investigators are also trying to determine in the more than 100 fires were caused by arson.
"The worst of that weather will be probably culminating on Wednesday, but (there won't be) much relief in the intervening period," Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.
These fires have been more intense and they're occurring early in the fire season which usually peaks during the southern hemisphere summer in December. Wildfires aren't rare in the area but they don't usually pop up in large numbers until December. However a dry winter and a hotter-than-usual spring have led to prime fire conditions early on.
The last time there were mass fires was in Victoria State in February 2009 when fire killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes.
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