Reuters AlertNet Lite - Australian killed fighting bushfire, 16 homes lost

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Australian killed fighting bushfire, 16 homes lost

15 Dec 2006 02:58:03 GMT
Source: Reuters

SYDNEY, Dec 15 (Reuters) - An Australian firefighter was killed when he was run over by a truck and 16 more homes have been destroyed by bushfires burning across three states, but authorities said on Friday weather conditions had eased.

A 48-year-old man fighting a deliberately lit bushfire in Victoria state was killed on Thursday when he fell from a truck and was hit by another truck travelling behind, said authorities.

"It was almost like the Vietnam War in the movies. There were helicopters and noise and the smoke, it was like a battlefield and I felt helpless," said innkeeper, Helen Hoppner, describing the firestorm the man was fighting.

Sixteen houses were destroyed in bushfires that ripped through several towns in Victoria's east on Thursday night. A total of 21 properties have been lost in Victoria since the bushfires began two weeks ago.

In Victoria state, more than 4,000 Australian and New Zealand firefighters were battling 19 blazes sparked by lightning strikes that have burnt 500,000 hectares (1,235 acres) of rugged mountain bushland and which threaten several towns.

Bushfires in the states of New South Wales and Tasmania are also burning out of control.

Residents in the Tasmanian hamlet of Four Mile Creek fled to the beach on Thursday as a wall of fire swept through their seaside village. Fourteen houses have been destroyed in Tasmania.

Fire fighters said winds were expected to ease over the next couple of days and temperatures should fall, giving exhausted fire fighters and residents some reprieve.

"We've now got a window of opportunity until early next week with milder weather conditions across the fire areas," said Graham Fountain from Victoria's Country Fire Authority.

"We'll be trying to take advantage of that obviously to secure and strengthen containment and control lines, however we still have got some active fire and we shouldn't be complacent," Fountain told reporters.

"But the weather conditions are a bit kinder to us. We had some very light rain over the fires last night, but certainly not enough to extinguish them totally."

Firefighters say Australia faces an extreme fire danger this summer after a drought that has turned many rural areas into tinder boxes. Scientists fear climate change will bring more frequent higher temperatures and less rainfall to the country.

Bushfires are a regular feature of Australia's summer. In January 2005, the deadliest bushfires in 22 years killed nine people in South Australia. Over the past 40 years, more than 250 people have been killed in bushfires in Australia.

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Last updated:Fri Dec 15 02:59:26 2006