Exhausted firefighters keep up battle against flames in Australia

Firefighters battling some of the most destructive wildfires to ever strike Australia's most populous state were bracing for worsening conditions on Sunday, with higher temperatures and winds expected to intensify the danger in the coming days.

The fires have killed one man, destroyed a total of 208 homes in New South Wales state and damaged another 122 since Thursday, the Rural Fire Service said.

Assessment teams continue to update the tally in their search for survivors and victims.

Firefighters have taken advantage of milder conditions since Thursday to reduce the number of fires threatening towns around Sydney from more than 100 over Thursday night to 61 by Sunday, a Rural Fire Service spokesman said.

Fifteen of these fires continued to burn out of control, including a blaze near Lithgow, west of Sydney.

The fire service gave its highest danger ranking to the massive Lithgow blaze which is burning on a 300-kilometre (190-mile) front.

"The fires that we're dealing with are just enormous in size. The State Mine fire which encompasses through Lithgow all the way through to Bilpin is about 305 kilometres (198 miles) around," the New South Wales State Rural Fire Service's Alex Chesser said.

Authorities expect that blaze will continue to burn for days and have advised several nearby communities to consider evacuating ahead of worsening weather conditions.

Around 1,500 firefighters have been back burning to contain blazes since winds and temperatures became milder on Friday.

Several roads in fire-affected areas north, west and south of Sydney have been closed.

The cause of the fire was under investigation by fire authorities and would be made public when determined, the Rural Service spokesman said.

Arson investigators are examining the origins of several of more than 100 fires which have threatened towns surrounding Sydney in recent days.

Wildfires are common in Australia, though they don't tend to pop up in large numbers until the summer.

This year's unusually dry winter and hotter than average spring have led to perfect fire conditions.

In February 2009, wildfires killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes in Victoria state.


AP