The country is in the midst of a record-breaking heat wave, with temperatures well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Multiple bush fires were burning in the state of Victoria.

Firefighters warned millions of Australians of "catastrophic" bushfire dangers on Thursday as they battled multiple blazes stoked by a heatwave blanketing the country.Firefighters are already trying to contain blazes dotted across the states of Victoria and New South Wales.

Australia's wildfires have burned millions of acres, scorching an area twice the size of Maryland, and killing at least 25 people nationwide. Thousands of firefighters are battling the more than 12-million-acre blaze. Firefighters from different regions of ...

Blazes in the state of Victoria have destroyed hundreds of structures, including homes, and killed one person, the authorities said.

The death toll from the fires rose to 17 on Wednesday. Australia's bushfires are continuing to wreak havoc on communities all over the country. The wildfires began in September and are expected to last for several months as the hot weather continues.

People in rural hamlets were urged to evacuate while they still could. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Total fire ban in place for whole of Victoria fires burn while Sydney prepares for the brunt of the heatwave

The size of the wildfires would cover a large portion of the United States. The raging fires in Australia have burned over 12.35 million acres of land -- with at least 24 people killed and more than 2,000 homes destroyed by the blazes, officials said.

Bushfires destroyed houses and razed vast belts of forest in southeastern Australia on Friday, firefighters said, as hot winds fanned “hectic” conditions in the tinder-dry countryside.