Dozens of Fires Rage in Australia

About 75 bush fires raged across Australia’s most populous state Tuesday, destroying houses, cutting major highways and isolating towns.

Brown haze blanketed much of New South Wales on the fifth day since the first wildfires broke out. A strong smell of smoke drifted in the central business district of Sydney, Australia’s biggest city, which was ringed by fires.

Hundreds of people had fled their homes, and thousands more were alerted to be ready to evacuate as 5,000 firefighters tried to contain blazes across the state.

By late evening, no fatalities had been reported. But a fire brigade officer was injured when a roof collapsed on him, and dozens of others suffered minor injuries.

Fueled by dry conditions and high summer temperatures, many of the fires remained out of control as strong winds fanned the flames.

“They will probably have spot fires caused by the winds that will jump the containment lines, and we’ll have new fires as well, there’s no doubt about that,” said John Winter, a spokesman for the Rural Fire Service.

Another spokesman, Cameron Wade, said the fires were spreading rapidly but so far were not as widespread as devastating outbreaks in 1994 that killed four people.

“In 1994, there were 284 fires going at any one time,” Wade said. “This is only about 75, but actually the weather conditions and their speed [of movement] is unprecedented.”

Motorists were advised not to travel west from Sydney.

At least a dozen homes were destroyed on the city’s western outskirts, and hundreds more were threatened.