Victorian bushfire to worsen in January and February, 116 homes destroyed

More than a hundred homes have been destroyed in a massive bushfire in the Victoria state in Australia. The out-of-control blaze, which started on Christmas Day, is predicted to burn along Victoria's surf coast for weeks. More than 500 firefighters, 29 trucks and 13 aircrafts tried to control the fire on Saturday, but a total of 116 homes are reportedly were destroyed.

According to Sky News, the tourist town of Wye River lost 98 homes and 18 more houses were destroyed by the fire in the neighborhood Separation Creek as the raze advance towards the town of Lorne. The situation is getting worse because of the strong winds in the area.

The fire officials working to control the blaze aim to clear the roads to make the commuting easy for the residents. Their work is becoming difficult because of many power cables and huge trees that are still burning.

“(We are) concentrating on the hazardous trees, and making sure we can get the roads open, the power companies able to declare the power lines all safe,” Alex Shilton from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning said on Sunday.

“Our aim is to try and open it up so that it's safe for people to get back in. Fallen domestic solar power lines remain a threat, while many trees are still burning and on the verge of falling over,” Shilton added.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews praised the residents for huge amount of courage that they showed in this difficult situation. However, the fire situation is expected to worsen in New Year.

"It's been an exceptionally dry year with the El Nino event, and the worst fire conditions will probably be seen in January and February, and that's why we're working really hard to consolidate this fire now," deputy incident controller Mark Gunning told AAP, adding that people still need to remain vigilant.

The bushfire was triggered by lightening strike on Dec. 19. The residents whose homes are affected by the brutal bushfires will access up to to $1,300 in emergency relief under a joint state and federal government scheme, news.com.au reports.

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