Firefighters work hard to control Australia bushfire

Sydney, Jan 6 (IANS/EFE) Australian emergency teams Tuesday battled one of the worst bushfires in South Australia in the last few years as high temperatures and strong winds threatened to make their job more difficult.

The fire has been raging since Friday and has left 134 people injured, some in serious condition, while scorching or severely damaging 38 houses and more than 12,500 hectares of land in South Australia, according to the television channel ABC.

Hundreds of firefighters and thousands of evacuees, aided by specialised vehicles and light aircraft, were working round-the-clock to try to save most of the buildings.

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill told reporters that the wounded were being treated for various injuries, from irritation in the eyes to serious or life-threatening wounds, and that 29 people had been hospitalised, although most of them have already been discharged.

Weatherill also said that at least 38 houses, four shops and 125 sheds had been destroyed or severely damaged in the fire.

Kersbrook, 35 km northeast of the city of Adelaide, was the worst-affected town with at least 12 houses having been gutted in the fire.

Firefighters were trying to contain the flames raging over a 200 km perimeter after the forecast that temperatures will reach 38 degrees Celsius Wednesday, a day that will likely also see erratic winds and storms.

High temperatures during summers have contributed to an increase in the number of bushfires in Australia in recent years, a situation that scientists attribute, in part, to global warming caused by climate change.

The year 2014 was the third hottest year recorded in Australia, coming in behind 2013 and 2005, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

--IANS/EFE

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