SYDNEY, Jan. 10 (Xinhua/APP): Australians braced themselves as the bushfire worsened again with extreme heat and winds fanning flames in the eastern states, which is far from over. Since September of last year, at least 27 lives have been lost, more than 2,300 homes destroyed and an estimated 1 billion animals have perished nationwide. Over 10 million hectares of wilderness has burned, which is about the size of South Korea, leaving large sections of the country including major cities blanketed in smoke. On Friday, emergency warnings were in place for the states of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria which were anticipating strong winds and temperatures in excess of 40 degrees centigrade. NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) Spokesman Ben Shepard told Xinhua on Friday that the crisis and ongoing threat to communities was far from over. “There is a likelihood that we will see further communities threatened… and the possibility of further losses,” he said. “Until such time that we have significant rainfall across the state, we’re going to continue this firefight still for days, weeks, if not months ahead.” On Kangaroo Island in the state of South Australia, fires also flared and have forced the evacuation of thousands of … Continue reading Australia’s bushfire fanned by extreme heat, wind