Savage Heat Wave and Fire Outbreaks Sweep Southern Australia and Tasmania
Refuge Sought as Fire Danger ‘Far From Over’
HISTORIC Port Arthur has become a refuge for 700 people fleeing a large bushfire in Tasmania’s southeast, as fires continue to burn in Victoria.
Thousands of people visited the convict ruins yesterday before the only road in and out of the Tasman Peninsula, the Arthur Highway, was cut off by the blaze.
Another 2000 people have taken shelter at a refuge in Nubeena, police say.
About 1000 people have been rescued by boat with hundreds forced to flee to beaches, the ABC reported. Police have confirmed a flotilla of their vessels and commercial craft picked up those trapped and ferried them to Hobart.