At least 2 killed in Australia fire

(South Australia) The massive bushfires that have been ravaging South Australia’s mid-north for days have completely destroyed 35 homes, whereas 42 others have suffered deep impacts of the fiery calamity, the Country Fire Service confirmed on Friday.

Two bodies were recovered on Wednesday and there was an unconfirmed report that a person fleeing the blaze died in a vehicle wreck in the razed rural area, South Australia state Premier Jay Weatherill said.

While residents who escaped the fires described their desperate attempts to save their homes, one absent homeowner 3,000 km (1,890 miles) north in the city of Darwin used a smartphone to activate his irrigation system to save his house.

He said the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

At least two of the people hospitalised were helping to fight the fires.

Two firemen are reportedly among those hospitalized by the flames Wednesday night, with Weatherill stating to reporters that “their condition is being closely monitored, but we do hold grave concerns”, according to ABC News.

The fire has burnt 82,600 hectares and has a 265 km perimeter.

He said his thoughts were also with those who had survived and with taking the necessary steps to support them through hard times.

Primary industry officials said on Thursday that 51,000 chickens had died at a farm at Hamley Bridge and about 500 pigs at Wasleys.

“I can’t believe it, I still can’t fathom that she’s gone”, she said.

Tiller’s sister-in-law Christine Tiller said he had been fighting the blaze on a neighbour’s property when fire closed in.

“There’s nothing left, it’s absolutely devastation”, grain farmer Peter March told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The fire has killed thousands of animals and destroyed homes and buildings as the blaze headed for the wine-growing region of the Barossa Valley.

Bushfires are common in Australia’s hotter months, with the latest fatalities taking to six the number killed since the annual season began. People dying in such circumstances, ‘ he said on Thursday as efforts continued to bring the blaze under control.