Australia Wildfires Have Claimed 25 Lives And Will Burn For Months, Officials Say
NPRAustralia Wildfires Have Claimed 25 Lives And Will Burn For Months, Officials Say Enlarge this image toggle caption Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images Australia's government is offering new help to people who have lost their homes and others affected by bushfires that have burned millions of acres of land. Fire officials in New South Wales said Monday morning that 69 fires remained uncontained, with a total of 136 fires in the state. On Sunday, an air force C-27 cargo plane helped to evacuate more than 170 people from Mallacoota, a town on the southeast coast, Australia's Department of Defense says. Sponsor Message While a large portion of southeast Australia has been under threat of fires in recent weeks, people on its northwest coast are facing a new peril that could further strain national emergency authorities: Cyclone Blake, the first cyclone of Australia's tropical storm season, is expected to make landfall late Tuesday or early Wednesday local time.