U.S. Embassy in Australia: Tourists should leave due to wildfires
Tourists on Australia's South Coast of New South Wales should leave, U.S. Embassy officials warned Thursday, because of "extreme fire danger" starting Saturday.
The embassy advised people to avoid the area this weekend. New South Wales's Rural Fire Service map showed a large cluster of wildfires Thursday from south of Brisbane to south of Canberra, Australia's capital.
The states of Victoria and New South Wales have declared states of emergency that will take effect on Friday. Both governments could make evacuations mandatory as conditions worsen.
More than 200 fires are burning across Victoria and New South Wales, the country's most populated areas.
Authorities have confirmed at least a dozen fatalities from the fires, which have been burning since October. Wildlife groups fear that millions of animals have died, as well.
It hasn't helped that Australia has experienced some of its hottest and driest conditions on record in recent weeks.
More: A toddler’s dad died battling wildfires. The 1-year-old boy was awarded his bravery medal
A hot and hazy day across #Victoria today, very smoky in the east. The morning sat pic shows smoke from #vicfires extending into the Tasman Sea, while visibility at Albury Airport has been as low as 500m. Check @EPA_Victoria for air quality info. pic.twitter.com/D1vcfBEEKN
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) January 2, 2020
BREAKING:
These fires are unprecedented.
And so tonight, we are taking the unprecedented step of declaring a State of Disaster in Victoria.
This is not a decision we've taken lightly.
But the dangers are real and we need to act now.https://t.co/spX555F96j— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) January 2, 2020
Tourist Leave Zone – South Coast Bush Fires
Dangerous conditions for holiday makers on the South Coast of NSW this weekend
With the widespread power and communications outages across the South Coast please share this information to as many affected people as possible. #nswrfs pic.twitter.com/JvbwrpC1fe— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) January 1, 2020
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Australia fires: U.S. Embassy tells tourists to leave due to wildfires