Australian authorities yesterday declared the worst of the deadly wildfire season over, telling thousands of people who fled their homes that it was safe to return.
Fire-fighting authorities began scaling back their operations after cooling rains fell almost a month after a savage firestorm swept through Australia’s southeast, killing 210 people.
“We see a very bright light at the end of the tunnel now,” said Bruce Esplin, emergency services commissioner in Victoria state.
GRIEVING PROCESS
“There’s an opportunity for the communities of Victoria to start their process of grieving, start their process of rebuilding, without the ever-present threat of fire,” he said.
The search for bodies would continue for another three weeks, but the rain had greatly reduced the fire threat and Esplin said it was time for firefighters from overseas and other states to return home.
An estimated 10,000 people were displaced by the fires, which razed more than 2,000 homes.
The death toll has remained at 210 for a week, but is expected to climb once forensic tests and searches are finalized.
With an end in sight to the immediate relief operation, the human services department said a new phase of “deeper-set recovery activity” could begin.
The government announced it would provide temporary accommodation for those left homeless by the fires for up to 18 months, with the first three months to be rent-free.
It will also begin to divide up and distribute recovery funds, with every affected person to receive a share, Victoria Premier John Brumby said.
“Clearly people who haven’t got any support, who’ve lost everything, who have been uninsured, maybe they will get a bigger hand along,” he said.
HIGH ALERT
Authorities were on high alert around four remaining major blazes on Tuesday, with heat and wind conditions predicted to intensify.
“Mother Nature threw just about everything at Victoria yesterday. We had wind, we had dust storms, we had rain, we had fires,” said Steve Warrington of the fire authority. “It will take some weeks to mop it all up, but as long as there are no new [fire] starts it should be okay.”
The wildfires followed a 13-year drought in southeastern Australia, which saw less than 4mm of rain in Melbourne during the first two months of this year.
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