Australia fires: Race to evacuate thousands before conditions worsen

Source: Axios

Australian authorities are racing to evacuate thousands of people stranded in the states of New South Wales and Victoria, with the military helping people escape the deadly wildfires by sea.

The latest: A naval ship with a 1,000-person capacity docked off the coast of Malacoota, Victoria, is set to evacuate some of the 4,000 people sheltering on the beach from fires, authorities said.

The NSW Rural Fire Service issued a "tourist leave zone" ahead of the arrival of dangerous conditions Saturday from fires expected to stretch over 150 miles along the South Coast to the state border with Victoria.

The NSW Police opened a major highway northbound Wednesday night to enable thousands of tourists who'd been stranded from Milton to Batemans Bay, an area stretching some 35 miles, to leave, per the Daily Telegraph, which reports major power and communications outages in the area caused by the fires.



Read more: https://www.axios.com/australia-fires-race-to-evacuate-thousands-24985267-e213-470e-99b7-cb190db1a217.html