The forest fires are out of control in Australia. The outbreaks forced thousands of people to take refuge on beaches in the southeast of the country, where the fire has caused 12 deaths and burned an area similar to that of Costa Rica in recent months.

Hundreds of fires multiplied on the last day of 2019 in Australia, where the focus is mainly on the southeast coast of the country due to high temperatures, high winds and the advance of the flames towards the coast.

In the coastal town of Mallacoota, about 500 kilometers east of Melbourne, some 4,000 locals and tourists had to take refuge on the beach, and those who were lucky did so with lifeguards and aboard ships.

In that tourist town, the thermometers rose to 49 degrees and the winds blew with an intensity of 80 kilometers per hour.

10:30am update from Dad at the wharf in Mallacoota – “fire front not far away” #Mallacoota #bushfirecrisis pic.twitter.com/MvgeiZqujM

— Daniel (@bluesfestblues) December 30, 2019

No light, mobile or internet

In addition, dozens of properties destroyed in recent hours have been reported although the number has not been confirmed, while more than 30,000 people will receive the new year without electricity. Likewise, the New South Wales Police confirmed that all telecommunications will be affected between the coastal communities of Nowra and Moruya, 192 and 303 kilometers south of Sydney, respectively.

In Bateman’s Bay, between Nowra and Moruya, some residents and tourists were evacuated to the beach before the flames progressed, while some sections of the Princess Highway, the main one on the east coast and surrounded by many sections of forests, were closed.

Fire at the door of Sydney

About 30 kilometres west of Sydney, in the suburb of Greystanes, the emergency has been declared by fire, one of the more than one hundred bulbs burning in the state.

Despite the crisis and the cancellation of several pyrotechnic New Year shows planned in various locations in New South Wales, Sydney, the largest city in the country and where the municipal authority obtained a special permit from firefighters, maintains its traditional festival of Fireworks planned before a million spectators.