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Canberra sifts through rubble
CANBERRA, Australia -- Residents of the bush land around Canberra began sifting through the ashen rubble of their homes after a weekend of ferocious fires that killed four people and destroyed around 400 homes. Following the worst fires ever to hit the capital, authorities on Monday urged residents whose homes survived not to return yet for fear of more fires or explosions from gas leaks. Four people were killed from the gust-driven wild fires while hospitals treated around 250 others for burns and smoke inhalation. Thousands of people were evacuated during a state of emergency, which remains in place. Hundreds of homes were still without power after fires knocked out power stations and lines and the city faces a sewage crisis after a treatment plant was damaged. Prime Minister John Howard toured some of the scorched areas around Canberra on Sunday, and said it was the worst fire damage he'd ever seen in Australia. As winds eased on Sunday, firefighters said the blazes that swept through Canberra were mostly under control. The disaster struck after bush fires burning out of control in forests south of the city raced into Canberra on Saturday afternoon, overwhelming firefighters, who were not able to get to the worst-hit areas. Smoke blanketed the capital, home to 300,000 people, including hundreds of diplomats, with the city's northern, western and southern outer suburbs whipped by the inferno. While Canberra is often coined the "bush capital," residents were taken by surprise at the fire's spread into the city as Australia struggles with one of its worst droughts in a century. Toll
As some police patrolled charred and deserted neighborhoods following isolated cases of looting, other officers were counting the toll. So far police say four people have been killed by the fires -- one man died of smoke inhalation while trying to save his house, and an 83-year-old woman was found at her home in Canberra. A 37-year-old woman was also found dead at her home in the western suburb of Duffy, police said, while Reuters news agency reported a fourth person was found dead in a house in the same area. The worst bush fires in 50 years were also sweeping out of control through the Snowy Mountains, to the southwest of Canberra on Sunday, as well as in Victoria state and in the north of Sydney, Australia's largest city. In the weeks before Christmas, at least one man died defending his home as fierce fires raged around Sydney, forcing hundreds to evacuate and engulfing at least 20 houses. Fires are natural to Australia's dry bush, roaring through parched undergrowth and into oil-filled eucalyptus trees, sparking infernos. As the country's cities grow, homes are encroaching onto natural bush lands. The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.
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