Residents flee homes from Australian wildfires

ESIDENTS fled their homes yesterday as savage wildfires blazed out of control in South Australia. Several homes were destroyed and more under threat, officials and witnesses told Agence France Presse (AFP).

The current inferno is coming less than a year after 173 people lost their lives in fires in neighbouring Victoria state.

According to AFP, officials warned that searing heat and strong winds could prove catastrophic as a large blaze burned outside the town of Port Lincoln.

"We have unconfirmed reports of losses of five to six residences. There are other residential and commercial structures under threat," a Country Fire Service spokeswoman told state radio.