MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — About 40 homes have been destroyed in two Australian states and a firefighter has died battling the blazes, officials said Monday.
The 59-year-old man was struck by a falling tree on Sunday night while fighting a wildfire near the New South Wales town of Burradra that razed 3,500 hectares (8,650 acres) of woodland and destroyed four homes over the weekend, Rural Fire Service chief Trent Curtin said.
The man could not be revived. Curtin said firefighters expected to battle the blaze for several days.
There were 52 wildfires burning in New South Wales on Monday, with nine remaining out of control. Curtin said a total of 20 homes were destroyed across the state over the weekend.
In the island state of Tasmania, weekend wildfires in the coastal community of Dolphin Sands destroyed 19 homes, local government official Dick Shaw told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Shaw said the fire was under control on Monday, but roads into the community remained closed and it was not yet safe for residents to return to their homes.