Vast swathes of Australia are still burning tonight, with forecasts of worse to come, and thousands of people ordered to evacuate.A record summer fire season has charred 12 million acres, destroyed 1,400 homes, and left 17 people dead.New South Wales and Victoria states are hardest hit, but fires are also burning across the rest of the country.Dan Rivers of Independent Television News reports from New South Wales, where whole communities are in ashes.Look at that burn. In Conjola Park on New Year's Eve, it felt like the world was ending, not just the year.The wildfire swept through in minutes. Here, local resident Peter Ruetman films as the fire approached his neighbor's house.This is all that's left. And Peter's home didn't survive either.I jumped in the car. It was so hot. The heat, I can't describe how hot it was, and the ferocity and the speed of this fire.Anyone that thought they were gonna beat this fire were really taking life into their own hands.Pascale Hegarty hasn't experienced fear like this since she escaped the war in Lebanon.Unbelievable. You could hear trees, gas bottles exploding.It was like a war zone. I have lived in war zone, and that's what it reminded me of, yeah.For those who have lost everything they own, the only comfort is knowing family and friends survived.
