03:59 pm
Brushfires
Australia is experiencing the worst wildfires in its history — over 160 dead. The fires are mostly in Victoria — mainly to the north and west of Melbourne — and appear to be the result of arson. A massive heat wave that has seen temperatures go as high as 130 degrees isn’t helping matters, nor is record drought.
As is usually the case, The Big Picture blog has the best coverage:
A fire truck moves away from out of control flames from a bushfire in the Bunyip Sate Forest near the township of Tonimbuk, 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of Melbourne, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. Walls of flame roared across southeastern Australia, razing scores of homes, forests and farmland in the sunburned country’s worst wildfire disaster in a quarter century.
You can view the entire portfolio at the Big Picture. Warning: some of the photos are quite shocking.