Australia declares state of emergency as wild fires threatens New South Wales and Victoria

In what is being described as the worst fire threat to the territory in nearly two decades, Authorities in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has declared a state of emergency as massive bushfires rage south of Canberra. The main blaze, in the territory’s south, is burning over more than 18,500 hectares, residents in suburbs of Canberra have been urged to “remain alert” for potential evacuations.

The small territory, located between Sydney and Melbourne, has about 400,000 residents, back In 2003, bushfires in the suburbs of Canberra killed four people, injured another 500 and destroyed or damaged 470 homes.

Mr Barr warned the fires “may become uncontrollable” as temperatures climbed to 40C and were fuelled by strong winds.

He said the worst blaze was just south of the district of Tuggeranong, a 20-minute drive south of Parliament House in Canberra. He added the state of emergency – which gives extra power and resources to fire authorities – would be in place for “as long as Canberra is at risk”.

Last Thursday, Canberra’s airport was shut down when a blaze threatened to breach its perimeter, on the same day three American firefighters died after their aircraft crashed over a fire zone near the city, in the Snowy Mountains region.

Earlier this week, photos of bushfires in the area turning skies red were shared widely on social media. It prompted authorities to issue warnings against “disaster tourism”, following several reports of people driving near active fire zones to take pictures.

“I want to reinforce the message to disaster tourists they’re not welcome as this fire approaches,” Mr. Barr said.

Since September, bushfires in Australia have killed at least 33 people and destroyed thousands of homes. More than 11 million hectares of land have been scorched.