Australian authorities urged nearly a quarter of a million people to evacuate their homes on Friday as soaring temperatures and erratic winds were expected to fan deadly bushfires across the east coast.
Twenty-seven people have been killed and thousands have been made homeless as the monster fires scorched through more than 10.3 million hectares (25.5 million acres) of land, an area the size of South Korea.
As temperatures begun to rise, authorities in Victoria state pleaded with people to move to safer areas.