Aussie towns decimated after weekend of catastrophic bushfires

Bushfires destroyed roughly 100 homes in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) over the weekend, with one small town described by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian as “all but wiped out.”

Particularly hard hit was the iconic Blue Mountains west of Sydney, where communities could do little but wait for the fires to arrive.

Berejiklian toured impacted communities on Monday, taking toll of the damage which followed a weekend of highly adverse firefighting conditions including searing temperatures and strong winds.

NSW Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner Rob Rogers told reporters that while accurate numbers were yet to be established, an estimated 100 homes had been lost to the fires since Friday.

Southwest of Sydney, the small town of Balmoral was reported to have lost 18 homes, while roughly 90 percent of its surrounding bushland was turned to ash.

“We’ve got the devastating news there’s not much left in the town of Balmoral,” Berejiklian said.

She described the experience of visiting fire affected communities as “sobering” and said that in many cases it would take years to rebuild.