Australia's prime minister called up about 3,000 reservists as the threat of wildfires escalated Saturday in at least three states with two more deaths, and strong winds and high temperatures were forecast to bring flames to populated areas including the suburbs of Sydney.
Scott Morrison said 23 deaths have been confirmed so far this summer, including the two in a blaze on Kangaroo Island off the coast of South Australia. "We are facing another extremely difficult next 24 hours," he told a televised news conference.
"Just around half an hour ago the governor general signed off on the call-out of the Australian Defence Force Reserve to search and bring every possible capability to bear by deploying army brigades to fire-affected communities," he said. "I'm pleased to say that we've never been as prepared as we are today for the onslaught we're likely to face," Berejiklian told reporters. "All of the major road networks are still open but we can't guarantee that beyond the next few hours. So there are still windows for people to get out."
Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fizsimmons said the 264,000-hectare Green Wattle Creek fire in a national park west of Sydney had the potential to spread into Sydney's western suburbs. "Our message has been to make sure you leave yesterday," he said. "Leaving it until today is cutting it fine. The sooner you make that decision the better and I would say do it now. Don't leave it any longer because the window will shrink and will shrink very quickly."
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