Sydney's doorstep fires

Not since the Ash Wednesday inferno of 1983, which claimed 72 lives, have Australians seen such prolonged and destructive fires. Spreading across 1,300 kilometers (807 miles), the bushfires have been raging since Christmas Day.

Hot, dry conditions and strong winds continue to fan the flames that have ruined large tracts of bush and many homes, devastated wildlife, and dealt a blow to the health of millions in Sydney and New South Wales with a blanket of smoke haze.