--- title: Australia Bushfire Destroys 70 Homes, Residents Evacuated description: A fast-moving bushfire in southeastern Australia has engulfed dozens of homes and is not yet contained canonical: https://time.com/5205054/bushfire-australia-tathra-victoria-2018/ author: Laignee Barron article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-19T07:31:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:41:14.333Z article:section: World og:title: Raging Australia Bushfire Devastates Coastal Town og:description: Dozens of homes are feared lost as the blaze engulfed the town of Tathra og:url: https://time.com/5205054/bushfire-australia-tathra-victoria-2018/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf346daad4d92809a/69892b3c97cdff6a3f6b4b4a/h_54207735.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Brushfires burn through areas of New South Wales in Australia og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Raging Australia Bushfire Devastates Coastal Town twitter:description: Dozens of homes are feared lost as the blaze engulfed the town of Tathra twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf346daad4d92809a/69892b3c97cdff6a3f6b4b4a/h_54207735.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Raging Australia Bushfire Destroys 70 Homes and Sends Residents Fleeing by [Laignee Barron](/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Mar 19, 2018 7:31 AM CUT  A firefighter douses flames in one of the more than 70 properties destroyed by a bushfire in the coastal town of Tathra, New South Wales, Australia on March 19, 2018. A firefighter douses flames in one of the more than 70 properties destroyed by a bushfire in the coastal town of Tathra, New South Wales, Australia on March 19, 2018.Dean Lewins—EFE/EPA by [Laignee Barron](/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Mar 19, 2018 7:31 AM CUT A fast-moving [bushfire](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-43453262 "undefined") in southeastern Australia has engulfed an estimated 70 homes and buildings, with firefighters still working Monday to contain the blaze. The fire has plowed through more than 2,400 acres in New South Wales, reaching Tathra, a small coastal town about six hours from Sydney, on Sunday, the BBC reports. The 1,600 residents were evacuated and four people were reportedly treated for smoke inhalation. Authorities have said one firefighter was injured. Photos showed some locals fleeing the fire walking along the shoreline on Sunday, carrying their belongings to a neighboring town against a blazing orange backdrop. “The smoke was thick and black. You could see the rescue helicopter with the water and you know it was all so real,” local resident Simone Ward told the BBC. > [](https://twitter.com/9NewsAUS/status/975630558364512256) Separate bushfires raging in the neighboring state of Victoria have reportedly destroyed 18 properties, killed livestock and burned more than 98,000 acres. The blazes may have been sparked by lightning on Saturday, officials said. According to local authorities, the ongoing bushfires are the worst seen this season. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5205054/bushfire-australia-tathra-victoria-2018/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5205054/bushfire-australia-tathra-victoria-2018/"},"headline":"Raging Australia Bushfire Destroys 70 Homes and Sends Residents Fleeing","datePublished":"2018-03-19T07:31:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:41:14.333Z","description":"Officials say the ongoing bushfires are the worst seen this season","url":"https://time.com/5205054/bushfire-australia-tathra-victoria-2018/","keywords":["Australia","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf346daad4d92809a/69892b3c97cdff6a3f6b4b4a/h_54207735.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laignee Barron","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf346daad4d92809a/69892b3c97cdff6a3f6b4b4a/h_54207735.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Brushfires burn through areas of New South Wales in Australia","caption":"Brushfires burn through areas of New South Wales in Australia","creditText":"Dean Lewins—EFE/EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/australia/","name":"Australia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5205054/bushfire-australia-tathra-victoria-2018/","name":"Raging Australia Bushfire Destroys 70 Homes and Sends Residents Fleeing"}}]}] ```