This archive report was first published on 21 December 2019.
Published on December 21, 2019, a record-breaking heatwave has been sweeping across Australia's eastern coast, exacerbating hundreds of devastating fires in its path.
As temperatures soared, Sydney was shrouded in toxic smoke, with blazes flaring to its north, south, and west, some just 130 kilometers from Australia's largest city.
"We are expecting very difficult circumstances, situations, in relation to all the fire fronts," New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
"As you know, it is a catastrophic condition, which means that at short notice, any fires active can become dangerous in a short time."
Evacuations were being carried out in the town of Bargo, on the front of a 185,000-hectare blaze which tore through the nearby area on Thursday.
"It's horrific, it's devastating driving around. We feel pretty isolated where we are with the roadblocks. Loved ones can't come and see us," Bargo resident Corey Cartes told AFP.
At least three million hectares of land has been torched across the country in recent months, with at least 10 people killed and more than 800 homes destroyed.
