Bushfires ravage the state of Victoria, in southern Australia.
Several towns are threatened by a spreading inferno.
Here, in the town of Aberfeldy, some 200 km east of Melbourne, flames came close to people's homes.
Residents were forced to leave as the fire grew out of control.
Several houses have been lost in the fire, which now covers an area of almost 50,000 acres in the state.
Firefighters are battling numerous bushfires around southern and eastern Australia.
Scientists say a creeping climate shift is to blame for hotter average temperatures globally - and for extreme fire conditions here in Australia this season.
But cooler temperatures and rain are predicted across much of the southeast over the weekend.
