A volunteer firefighter died in New South Wales while more than 100 bushfires burned across Australia amidst an intense heatwave.
The volunteer firefighter died and two others suffered burns after their truck rolled over when it was hit by extreme winds amid raging bushfires. The firefighters were working on a fire about 70 km (45 miles) east of Albury in New South Wales, fire authorities tweeted.
Bushfires have destroyed more than 4 million hectares of forest and brush across Australia in recent weeks – an area the size of Japan.
Aerial video taken by the NSW Rural Fire Service showed a bushfire in Bemboka in Bega Valley – around 93 miles from Canberra, and Ellerslie, 68 miles from Canberra.
The nearby area of Cobargo experienced a fire-generated thunderstorm, according to the Rural Fire Service. Authorities said that dry lightning could spark further flare-ups in Australia’s fire-ravaged south.