A woman was killed in her home Friday and thousands forced to flee as forest fires flared during the heatwave in southern Australia, fire authorities said. According to dpa, Victoria state fire chief Craig Lapsley told reporters that lightning strikes had started fresh fires in East Gippsland, 350 kilometres east of state capital Melbourne, that could unite to form a single blaze covering 500,000 hectares. "That fire has the potential to burn significant areas over the next couple of days," he said. The fiercest blazes are in the Grampians high country, 250 kilometres west of Melbourne, where the first fatality was reported. The Country Fire Authority ordered an evacuation from threatened areas early Friday, fearing that a change in wind direction could force brigades to retreat from erratic firefronts and leave residents without help.
