U.S. firefighters will help Australian crews tackle fierce bushfires advancing on towns in the country's southeast that have already blackened an area larger than Lebanon.
CANBERRA -- U.S. firefighters will help Australian crews tackle fierce bushfires advancing on towns in the country's southeast that have already blackened an area larger than Lebanon.
A team of 143 firefighters from the American National Interagency Fire Centre at Boise, Idaho, will arrive in Victoria next week as thousands of Australian volunteers brace for days of searing temperatures and gusting winds, expected to fan flames.
"In the fire area, we are looking at winds of 25 to 30 kph (18 mph) and temperatures of 37 Celsius (98 Fahrenheit), and the possibility of lightning. There will be no rain," Environment Department spokesman John Lloyd said on Monday.
The Americans, travelling to Australia under a mutual assistance pact between the countries, will join volunteers from Canada and New Zealand already battling bushfires in what experts say is the world's most fire-prone area.
Bushfires this summer in Australia's southeast have destroyed more than 1.1 million ha (4,247 square miles) of Victorian bushland, while blazes have also struck four other states. In New South Wales firefighters were struggling on Monday to control fires sparked by lighting and burning out of control in the state's central-west.
Several central Victorian towns were on alert to expect ember showers, while control lines and fire-retardant chemicals were being used to protect the Mount Buller ski resort and Thomson Dam, Melbourne's largest water supply.
In South Australia police were hunting an arsonist suspected of lighting up to a dozen bushfires.
Australia faces extreme fire danger this summer due to a severe drought. Bushfires, a regular feature of the summer, have killed more than 250 people over the past 40 years.
Source: Reuters
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