“Seven meter high flames”: bushfires rage in Australia. US holds air force exercises with South Korea and Japan

Dozens of people are fleeing several serious bushfires in the Australian state of Queensland. The towns of Tara and Kogan, about 250 kilometers west of Brisbane, were particularly affected, local emergency services said on Tuesday. Residents were asked to leave their homes immediately. ‘Your life could be in danger. “Soon it will be too dangerous to drive,” Queensland Fire and Emergency Services wrote on X.

One resident told 9News his entire home was destroyed by the fire. “The flames were seven meters high. That’s when I knew I was now homeless.” Emergency shelters have been set up nearby for those affected, Sky News Australia reported. A bushfire was also raging in the town of Millmerran, further south, but is now almost under control, fire spokesman Wayne Waltisbuhl said. Several houses were also destroyed there.

Meanwhile, weather conditions remain extremely dangerous: “We are dealing with high temperatures and very low humidity, which makes fire behavior quite unpredictable at the moment,” Waltisbuhl explains. Authorities announced a complete ban on outdoor open fires in more than 30 regions until Saturday.

Last week, a serious bushfire destroyed thousands of hectares of land in the neighboring state of New South Wales. A man died trying to protect his farm from the flames. High temperatures and high winds repeatedly fanned the flames northeast of Sydney.

Authorities had warned weeks ago that the Australian spring and summer could be the most violent bushfire season since the devastating ‘Black Summer’ of 2019-2020. At the time, weeks of wildfires destroyed more than twelve million hectares of land, killing or displacing countless animals. (sda/dpa)