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'If it is Safe to Get Out, Then You Must Get Out,' Australians Told

Associated Press

   EDEN, Australia --Thousands of people fled their homes and helicopters
   dropped supplies to towns at risk of nearby wildfires as hot, windy
   conditions Friday threatened already fire-ravaged southeastern
   Australian communities.

   The danger is centered on New South Wales and Victoria, Australia's
   most populous states, where temperatures and wind speeds are escalating
   after a few days of relatively benign conditions.

   The New South Wales Rural Fire Service had warned that coastal towns
   south of Sydney including Eden, Batemans Bay and Nowra could again be
   under threat weeks after losing homes to the fires. By early evening
   Friday, the wildfires burning in that region were holding within
   containment lines, but a strong shift in winds predicted for later
   Friday could cause them to flare anew, Rural Fire Service Commissioner
   Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters.

   "A long afternoon to go, a long night still to go, for all our
   firefighters and those affected by the fires," Fitzimmons said.

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