Flames rip through towns, fears death toll will rise as bushfires rage on | ABC News

as the year and the decade comes to an end that country is burning it's been labeled the worst fire season ever recorded an apocalypse a nightmare and like looking into the gates of Hell from the New South Wales Victoria border all the way to the Central Coast and nine blazes reached emergency warning level today here's what we know right now two men believed to be a father and son were killed trying to defend their home in the south coast town of cabaco overnight a 72 year old man is still unaccounted for in the nearby town of bolero the RFS says dozens of homes have been destroyed and late today police warned all telecommunications including mobile services and the Internet will be lost tonight on the south coast between nara and maria tonight we have reporters standing by across the region with the latest information first - jade macmillan near cabaco where those two men died Jade what do we know about the tragedy well sadly we know that a 63 year old man and his 29 year old son were killed while trying to defend their property near Kabongo a woman the wife of one of those men and mother of the other man returned home this morning and found their bodies we also know that a third person is still missing at volara now the princess highway here north of Vega the road that would normally go through touka bago is still closed but locals there have told us that the fire that swept through their small community was terrifying there is believed to be significant damages to buildings photos from the main street show rubble where businesses should be standing and presidents say that embers started spot fires right throughout that area and the fire moved incredibly quickly Selby Stewart let's go to you now you're at Sussex Inlet you were there as the Karawang fire raged - what's the latest they're on the ground karinna this fire is still very much out of control and it's now so large it reaches from the northern part of all adela all the way up to the southern parts of Knauer and today it burnt with such ferocity we're at a roadblock down in the princess highway when a spot fire from the Kerwin blaze exploded next to us we had to flee alongside police and residents in that area down to Sussex Inlet where the one Road in and out has now been closed it's been a very trying time for all RFS crews and residents here luckily the spot fire was pushed away by the southerly but it bought the Caroline fire front which had those pyrocumulus clouds and when it hit it was terrifying it was completely dark there were embers flying overhead and the wind was so strong and the fire was so ferocious you could hear trees exploding in the forest so it's been an incredibly difficult day very treacherous and unpredictable conditions right up and down the coast also down in Batemans Bay where we know that homes have been lost there reporter live Kaz Byrne has more after weeks of threatening coastal towns the south coast bush fires suddenly roared into full force triggering warnings to residents from Coomer to bigger and north to Batemans Bay and beyond season has fire approaches as the blaze struck with ferocity emergency crews were stretched thin struggling in chaotic conditions strong changeable winds Fanning the destruction in Batemans Bay holidaymakers retreated to the water as visibility plummeted shops and cafes shuttered up it's horrific it's like a real zone catastrophic no words to describe it homes lost up the back of us scared nervous kind of want to go home but can't go home yet so you're just planning on wait a guidance from me as firefighters battle these horrendous conditions you can hear gas bottles exploding just a few kilometers from here and people have come here to the water where they feel safer spotfires arrived under raging winds with many residents choosing to stay and protect looks like it's jumped the highway papa west of us and it's just roared down like a bloody freight train if it gets too close we're leaving we're staying in the house or if it doesn't where they'll sit outside trying to help the fire ease at lake control our locals watched as dozens of homes and businesses burnt down at Mogo zoo a superhuman effort to move animals and protect structures was underway we got out and we watered everything we possibly could any species of animals that was all on up there or in areas that we couldn't protect we caught up staff grateful that rare creatures were saved a moment of defiance against a fire that seemed unstoppable beef has been ABC news late news bang now to Hamish MacDonald who spent the day at the evacuation center in Vega Hamish thousands of visitors have had to flee holiday homes along the coast what's the mood like there Karina I should let you know that just as we go to where tonight in the eastern states we're feeling a few drops of rain falling here at the biggest show ground not a lot not enough probably to get excited about but significant nonetheless today has been absolutely extraordinary I've covered plenty of bush fires in my reporting career I have never experienced anything like this you need to be here to understand what it is like being in communities that are entirely cut off to the south there were bush fires to the west there were bush fires to the north they were bush fires and in every direction roads were cut off and that's what saw so many hundreds indeed thousands of people take refuge wherever they could with fire coming at them from the north the south and west there was only one direction residents and holidaymakers came in along the south coast hundreds fled to the water any way they could things were seeing at the moment particularly with all our surf clubs on the far south coast where we have you know approximately you know six seven thousand people sheltering at burn McGee alone over four thousand five hundred people there overnight a time-lapse video captured the moment hell enveloped the town of Bravo it was just like looking to the white the gates of hell it was just incredible it was so intense in there were more than one section no sir and that's what I realized that we'd done the right thing okay yeah Caroline long and her dogs got out of their home in nearby Verona at 1:00 a.m. it's a weather board house on top of a ridge next to a mountain I don't think there's anything left Daniel Marshall spent today fighting to save a mate's house just a day after his family lost their own home Paul Carroll lost all but his car this is it this is my five kids my missus and me this is it's all we lost our whole house but I didn't get my Nana's rings out and my wedding rings so I'm really sad about that can you actually cope with this with the scaler I don't know I don't know the biggest showground is one of many evacuation points for families now locked in by road closures Anna Van Gorder and Rachel Lamont left their home in tanjur but couldn't convince their father and cousin to leave I just said I can't I can't say goodbye I can't say goodbye it's not the end I don't want to say goodbye they've been arriving here all afternoon in their hundreds maybe even thousands with their families their trailers their caravans some even with their boats if they are celebrating tonight here at the biggest show grounds and it's felt like knife all day it'll simply be that they made it out safely Hamish MacDonald ABC News bigger you

Channel: ABC News (Australia)

Views: 700,061

Keywords: Australia, abc, abc news, news, fires, bushfire, bushfires, bushfires australia, bushfires nsw, fires nsw, emergency, extreme weather, sydney, sydney news, wildfire, wildfires, new south wales, new south wales bushfire, firefighters, fire season, emergency warning, flames, blaze, blazes, rural fire service, homes lost, firies, bushfire season, fire service

Id: yhmaXS70YnQ

Length: 8min 49sec (529 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 31 2019