SYDNEY — Walls of flame roared across southeastern Australia, razing at least 640 homes, forests and farmland in the country’s worst wildfire disaster in a quarter-century. At least 65 people died and the toll could rise further, police said today.
Witnesses described seeing trees exploding and skies raining ash as temperatures hit a record 117 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday in Victoria state and combined with raging winds to create perfect conditions for uncontrollable blazes.
“Hell in all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria in the last 24 hours,” Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters today as he toured the fire zone.
Police said they thought the deaths included groups of people whose charred bodies were found in cars, suggesting families or groups of friends were engulfed in flames as they tried to flee.
One official said an entire town had been razed except for one building, though no deaths were reported there.
Police said they were still trying to confirm details of the deaths, with officers’ movements hampered by still-dangerous conditions in the disaster zone.
Victoria police spokeswoman Sarah Campbell said bodies were found at a dozen locations north and east of the state capital, Melbourne. At least 18 people were hospitalized with burns.
Conditions in Victoria eased today, but several major fires still posed a threat. State Premier John Brumby said troops would be deployed to help thousands of exhausted volunteer firefighters battle on.
The fires were so massive they were visible from space Saturday. NASA released satellite photographs showing a cloud of smoke across southeastern Australia.
Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said police suspected some of the fires were set deliberately and predicted it would take days to get all the blazes under control.
Wildfires are common during the Australian summer. Government research shows that about half of the roughly 60,000 fires each year are deliberately lit or suspicious. Lightning and people using machinery near dry brush are other causes.
