Australia: More Endangered As Fires Border Towns

Thousands of Australian locals and vacationers have been forced to leave their homes and sleep on beaches due to the fires raging across southeast Australia as the fires burn through tourist areas with no way to escape by land.

In the town of Mallacoota alone, over four thousand people are trapped on the foreshore while many others have found safety on beaches as the fires have bordered the towns the coast strip.

Some residents with boats have taken up residence in their water mobiles hoping to stay as far away from the fire as possible.

The raging fires have destroyed many properties and a number of seven people have been found missing in the states of Victoria and New South Wales.

In the town of Mallacoota, the skies are a burning red, leaving everywhere dense with smoke, with fires in nearby areas causing thunderstorms and "ember attacks."

The Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner, Andrew Crisp, in an interview with ABC said, “We’ve got a fire that looks like it’s about to impact on Mallacoota,” also saying that firefighters have been positioned to protect affected groups.

“We’ve got three strike teams in Mallacoota that will be looking after 4,000 people down on the beach there,” he said. “We’re naturally very concerned about communities that have become isolated.”

There are efforts underway for those in towns and cities trapped and encircled by the fires to evacuate by air or by sea if necessary.