Firefighters battle Tasmania wildfires
Bushfires have forced thousands of people to flee their homes in the southern island state of Tasmania. The fires scorched a large swathe of land all the way to the waterline and some residents and tourists had to wade into the sea to escape the fire, which has either damaged or destroyed at least 100 homes, businesses and a school. The worst hit area is around the small town of Dunalley, east of the Tasmanian capital of Hobart, where 65 buildings including the town's school, police station and bakery were destroyed, local media reported. Officials had been investigating a report that one person died in the blaze on Friday, but on Saturday, police said there were no confirmed deaths or injuries from the fire. The island state's Fire Service has issued emergency warnings and officials said it will be a while before the fires are contained. Some of the stranded tourists who spent the night in the historic Port Arthur, a former prison colony, were evacuated by ferry to Hobart. Read more: www.telegraph.co.uk Get the latest headlines www.telegraph.co.uk Subscribe to The Telegraph www.youtube.com Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter twitter.com Follow us on Google+ plus.google.com Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Daily Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.
http://wn.com/Firefighters_battle_Tasmania_wildfires Bushfires have forced thousands of people to flee their homes in the southern island state of Tasmania. The fires scorched a large swathe of land all the way to the waterline and some residents and tourists had to wade into the sea to escape the fire, which has either damaged or destroyed at least 100 homes, businesses and a school. The worst hit area is around the small town of Dunalley, east of the Tasmanian capital of Hobart, where 65 buildings including the town's school, police station and bakery were destroyed, local media reported. Officials had been investigating a report that one person died in the blaze on Friday, but on Saturday, police said there were no confirmed deaths or injuries from the fire. The island state's Fire Service has issued emergency warnings and officials said it will be a while before the fires are contained. Some of the stranded tourists who spent the night in the historic Port Arthur, a former prison colony, were evacuated by ferry to Hobart. Read more: www.telegraph.co.uk Get the latest headlines www.telegraph.co.uk Subscribe to The Telegraph www.youtube.com Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter twitter.com Follow us on Google+ plus.google.com Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Daily Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.
