Bushfires killed one and threatened a major Australian alpine resort today as firefighters prepared to face soaring temperatures and high winds expected to fan flames across two states.
Fire crews discovered a body in a gutted house in South Australia, which has so far escaped the worst of the summer fire emergency touching five of the country's six states.
In New South Wales a cool respite allowed authorities to complete evacuations of about 700 people, including tourists, from the winter ski resort of Thredbo, 150 kilometres south of Canberra.
Authorities were hoping the fire would sweep through the alpine ranges during today's relative calm and allow water-bombing aircraft to save the village ahead of three days of temperatures nudging 40 degrees.
In Victoria, where 50 days of fires have blackened an area larger than Lebanon, light rains brought respite to three hamlets under threat from showers of embers sparking flare-ups ahead of advancing fire fronts.
The Victorian fires destroyed eight homes on Tuesday and caused blackouts in Australia's second largest city, Melbourne.
Lightning strikes, blamed for most of the fires, lit another four blazes across the state. The state's ambulance service said it had treated 1,332 firefighters for injuries since early December.
Australia faces extreme fire danger this summer because of severe drought. Bushfires, a regular feature of the Australian summer, have killed more than 250 people over the past 40 years.