Australia wildfires raze homes in New South Wales
Blue Mountains resident: "I knew my house was gone"
Australian
fire fighters are battling a series of major wildfires in New South
Wales, with fears that hundreds of homes have been destroyed.
The blazes are continuing to burn on the outskirts of Sydney, despite the easing of temperatures and winds.One man has died while trying to protect his home.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott visited Winmalee in the Blue Mountains, one of the areas worst-hit by the fires, around 70km (45 miles) west of Sydney.
Correspondents say bushfires are common in Australia but they have come earlier than normal this year, sparking concerns of further problems to come.
Deputy New South Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service Commissioner Rob Rogers said the fire situation was the worst he had seen in more than a decade and the threat was unlikely to ease for some time.
"We've got thousands of kilometres of fire front that we are faced with trying to deal with," he told local media.
For families living around the small community of Springwood in the Blue Mountains, many have had their lives turned upside down. Australians are well used to the threat of bush fires, but nothing can prepare you for the moment when you return home to find your house and everything inside utterly gutted by fire.
"It's devastating but we're all here and that's the main thing," Chris Muller told me, as her daughter picked through the smouldering rubble of her mother's home.
Among the few recognisable things are a couple of silver spoons and a battered coffee pot.
"We're looking for one of my cats Olly. We hope he managed to hide down the drain," she tells me.
Several fires are still burning around Springwood. Relays of helicopters whirr through the smoky haze, dumping water to try and douse the flames. A drop in the temperature today has given fire fighters a window to try and get on top of the situation before the weekend, when the mercury is expected to rise again. It's only spring here. The fear is of a long and difficult summer fire season.
Hundreds of residents spent Thursday night in evacuation centres, with many returning home to find their houses razed.
Fire fighters described blazes as tall as 20m to 30m (100ft). A 63-year-old man died from a heart attack as he tried to defend his home in Lake Munmorah, in the Central Coast region of NSW, on Thursday afternoon.
Around 2,000 fire fighters across the state worked to try and contain the fires but many are still burning out of control, says the BBC's Jon Donnison in Sydney.
Mr Abbott, in Winmalee, said of those helping to battle the fires: "These are ordinary people who, on an extraordinary day, come together to support their community and to protect their fellow Australians."
At least three fire fighters have been reported injured.
Officials were still trying to determine the number of homes affected by the fire, with reports estimating the loss of as many as 200 homes.
The fires have been caused by unseasonably hot temperatures and strong winds. While these have now died down, more hot weather is forecast next week.
Residents faced scenes of devastation in Sydney's Blue Mountains
Plumes of orange smoke hung over Sydney
Some buildings were destroyed beyond recognition
Fire Services Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told local media that the situation remained "very active, very dynamic, very dangerous", despite the cooler conditions.
Around 500 sq km (200 sq miles) had been burnt out so far, he added.
Ron Fuller, who lost his home in Winmalee, told ABC News: "We've had a number of fires through here before but this was an extraordinary fire. The speed was extraordinary, it just raced through this whole area, took out some houses, left other ones standing."
Jodie Harrison, Mayor of Lake Macquarie, said that four heritage homes, as well as a historic jetty, were caught in the fire.
"It's been confirmed that four houses in the heritage village of Catherine Hill Bay have been lost," she told local media.
Darkened skyline
"We're in for a long, tough summer," he added.
Alex Chesser, a District Officer with the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, told the BBC that the fires had come unusually early.
"It's... a combination of a couple years of quite wet summers and winters which have allowed the bush to continue to grow at high rates, and also prevented us undertaking as many hazard reduction burns as we'd like," he said.
Smoke and ash from the wildfires blanketed the Sydney skyline on Thursday.
New South Wales was also hit by bush fires in September, which injured several fire fighters.
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Kim Kardashian Biography
Kim Kardashian is the ex-girlfriend of Nick Cannon, Reggie Bush and
Ray J. She had intercourse on camera with the former, which is what made
Kim a celebrity gossip favorite. In the spring of 2011, she got engaged
to basketball player Kris Humphries, an agreement that should net each
millions.Kim stars in Keeping Up with the Kardashians. This ridiculous reality show has been on for multiple seasons and is centered around Kim and her attention-starved family, which includes former Olympian Bruce Jenner and an assortment of sisters with first names that begin with the letter K.
It's hard to say what makes Kim so popular, but you gotta admire how she's mastered the celebrity gossip game. Kardashian makes seven figures a year by simply appearing at clubs and blogging about random parties. She must love capitalism.
She appeared on season seven of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Mark Ballas... and didn't do very well. In late 2010, this large-breasted professional celebrity moved to New York and started filming a reality show there with Kourtney. She also Tweets a lot and he married Kris Humphries in August 2011.
They got divorced 72 days later, leading - finally! - to some major Kim backlash.
- See more at: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/stars/kim-kardashian/bio.html#sthash.RKzEOkrr.dpuf
