Australia ... Thousands flee to beaches to escape forest fires

Arab Weather - Thousands of tourists and Australian residents fled to the shores of the east coast on Tuesday, fearing forest fires sweeping several sea-neighboring towns at the height of the summer vacation season.

And government officials requested support from the Australian army and help from American and Canadian firefighting teams as authorities confirmed the killing of two people during Monday night, raising the death toll to 11 since the start of the wildfires in October, according to " Reuters ".

The huge fires destroyed more than ten million acres, while new fires erupt almost daily due to the extremely hot weather and stormy weather in the dry grasslands after three years of drought.

More than 200 fires are currently burning across the states of New South Wales and Victoria in the southeast of the country, due to high temperatures and strong winds, threatening several towns.

"It will be a long, difficult and very dangerous night, we will face another difficult day tomorrow," said Shane Fitzsimons, Commissioner of the New South Wales State Firefighting Service, in a briefing to Sydney.

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The authorities said the main front of the fire was moving along the coast and appealed to those on its path to find refuge near the beach.

About 4,000 people in Malaccota, Victoria, went to the waterfront after the main road was interrupted, while those who could not do so took shelter in a fitness room and other public buildings after the emergency whistles sounded.

Some of the people trapped in the town posted pictures on the social networking sites of the sky, which were filled with red and smoke. A picture on a beach showed people lying on the sand, some of them wearing gas masks.

Fires are common in four states, and their fronts extend hundreds of kilometers, sometimes affecting many towns and rural areas.

Smoke covers Sydney, with forest fires burning on its outskirts ahead of a New Year's Eve fireworks display.

The authorities said they would go ahead with the offer, despite some popular calls for it to be canceled in solidarity with the areas ravaged by fires in New South Wales.