Nearly 500,000 Acres Already Burned In South Australia

[hatrack]

(RTTNews) - On Saturday, 24 bushfires were reported across the state of Victoria, destroying one home and threatening dozens more. In one of the worst fire disasters in the memory of Australia, the heightening worry is that high winds could spread the fire beyond containment lines, media sources reported Sunday.

The fires have burned more than 200,000 hectares of land and have left a pall of smoke over Melbourne, Australia's second largest city. The smoke cloud has delayed air traffic at the city's airport and medics have warned people with respiratory problems to stay indoor. More than 3,000 firefighters are involved in the operations to tackle the fires, including volunteer civilian fire crews and military personnel.

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