Australia's worst fires in decades

WANDONG, Australia (Reuters) - Australia's deadliest bushfire killed 84 people, as the inferno engulfed entire towns, destroying hundreds of homes and killing people as they tried to flee in cars or huddled in their homes, police said on Sunday.

Witnesses described seeing trees exploding and skies raining ash as temperatures hit a record 117 degrees Fahrenheit (47 C) on Saturday in Victoria state and combined with raging winds to create perfect conditions for uncontrollable blazes.
"Hell in all its fury has visited the good people of Victoria in the last 24 hours," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told reporters Sunday as he toured the fire zone.
Police said they believed the deaths included groups of people whose charred bodies were found in cars — suggesting families or groups of friends were engulfed in flames as they tried to flee. One official said an entire town had been razed save for one building, though no deaths were reported there.

The fires were so massive they were visible from space Saturday. NASA released satellite photographs showing a white cloud of smoke across southeastern Australia.

Wildfires are common during the Australian summer. Government research shows that about half of the roughly 60,000 fires each year are deliberately lit or suspicious. Lightning and people using machinery near dry brush are other causes.
Australia's deadliest fires were in 1983, when blazes killed 75 people and razed more than 3,000 homes in Victoria and South Australia.