Worsening Weather Drives Australian Firefighters to Contain Blaze

Australian firefighters are struggling to contain the bushfire in southern parts of the country, as worsening weather is forecasted for Wednesday and may spread the fire to other regions.

MOSCOW, January 5 (Sputnik) — Australian firefighters are struggling to contain a strong bushfire before weather conditions are expected to deteriorate on Wednesday, according to BBC.

"We're really racing against time to try to make sure that we get as much of this contained before the hotter weather and the stronger winds are expected later in the week," South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill said in a statement, cited by the newspaper.

The bushfire started in South Australia on Friday and has already burned 12,500 hectares of land and destroyed more than 30 homes. It is considered the most severe bushfire in the region since the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983, which claimed lives of 75 people and resulted in widespread destruction.

The cause of the bushfire has yet not been identified. Police are currently investigating factors that could have triggered the blaze and suggested it could have been sparked by an incinerator in the Sampson Flat district.  However, an unspecified tenant has refuted this version, saying that he had not used the incinerator since he moved in four months ago, according to Sydney Morning Herald.

Australian authorities are providing victims with emergency payments of up to $700 and offering then temporary housing facilities, the newspaper reports.