SYDNEY (TNS) Thousands of tourists holidaying on the south coast of Australia have been told to evacuate before the weekend when extreme weather is set to intensify deadly wildfires sweeping through the region.
The Rural Fire Service said anyone in the southeastern tip of New South Wales state should get out in the next two days. The 140-mile stretch from Batemans Bay down to the Victoria state border has been ravaged by fires this week, as infernos turned the sky blood red and rained down embers and ash on communities.
At least seven people have been killed on the south coast of New South Wales this week and hundreds of properties destroyed. Thousands of locals and tourists have been stranded in the rural, forested region at the peak of the summer holiday season as firefighters try to take advantage of cooler weather today to contain blazes and re-open roads. Isolated communities in Victoria also remain cut-off, including the township of Mallacoota, where some 4,000 people were forced to shelter on the beach or escape by boat as wildfires swept through.
