Australians urged to leave early in face of new bushfire threat

Australian officials issued fresh evacuation warnings Wednesday ahead of a forecast spike in the intensity of out-of-control bushfires that have devastated vast swathes of countryside and sent smoke clouds as far away as Brazil.

Residents of Victoria state's fire-ravaged east were urged to leave before another heatwave raises bushfire danger Friday, while in South Australia state, authorities began relocating people from small community on Kangaroo Island.

"Leave, and leave early" Victoria's police minister Lisa Neville urged those in the danger zone.

"Everything we've done in terms of ... issuing warnings have been about saving lives, and today I'm asking people to continue to heed the message that we are giving."

The catastrophic bushfires have been fueled by a crippling drought that has turned the forests to tinder and exacerbated by climate change, which scientists say is increasing the length and intensity of Australia's fire season.

Authorities on Wednesday confirmed that a fourth firefighter had died while battling the blazes, bringing the overall death toll to 26 people.

More than 2000 homes have been destroyed, since the crises began in September and some 8 million hectares(80 000 square kilometers) has been burned, an area the size of Ireland or South Carolina.

University of Sydney scientists estimate one billion animals have been killed in the fires.

The figure includes mammals, birds and reptiles, but not frogs, insects or invertebrates.

Smoke from the fires has been spotted more than 12000 kilometers(7,400 miles) away in Brazil and Argentina, whether authorities in the South American countries said.

evacuation 撤退 n.
ahead of 在...前面
spike---a sudden large increase in something
devastate---to destroy completely
swathes---a long, thin area of something, especially land
heed---pay attention to
catastrophic 灾难性的 adj.
crippling 有严重危害的 adj.
drought 旱灾 n.
tinder 易燃物 n.
exacerbate 使...加剧 v.
blaze 大火 n.
hectare 公顷
mammal 哺乳动物
reptile 爬行动物
invertebrate 无脊椎动物