Over 100 homes lost to bush fires in Australia

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People forced to flee bushfires in the Australian state of Victoria begin returning to assess the scale of destruction.
A distressed woman tending to horses as children sleep on fold-out beds in the main street of Lorne, south of Melbourne. Top emergency officials warned that dry conditions posed a threat of more fires for the Great Ocean Road area and the rest of Vic
A distressed woman tending to horses as children sleep on fold-out beds in the main street of Lorne, south of Melbourne. Top emergency officials warned that dry conditions posed a threat of more fires for the Great Ocean Road area and the rest of Victoria. PHOTO: EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

MELBOURNE • More than 100 homes burned down in a tourist area in Australia as Christmas Day bush fires remained out of control and dangerous yesterday, with officials predicting more blazes to come in the hot southern summer.

While around 150 firefighters battled the flames along parts of Victoria state's picturesque Great Ocean Road, teams moved in to assess the damage from fires that had lit up the night sky along the coast.

A spokesman for the state's emergency services said 85 homes had been confirmed burned in the community of Wye River and another 18 in nearby Separation Creek, for a total of 103 in the two townships located about 120km south-west of Melbourne.

Top emergency officials warned that dry conditions posed a threat of more fires for the Great Ocean Road area and the rest of Victoria.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on December 27, 2015, with the headline Over 100 homes lost to bush fires in Australia. Subscribe