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The firefighter died after being struck by a tree. Dozens of homes in two states have been lost as hot, windy conditions point to a challenging fire season.
Firefighters at work in Koolewong in the Australian state of New South Wales on Saturday.Credit...Dan Himbrechts/Australian Associated Press, via Reuters
Dec. 8, 2025, 12:56 a.m. ET
A firefighter was killed in Australia on Sunday while battling one of several blazes burning in different parts of the country that have destroyed homes and prompted evacuations, in what officials warned could be a challenging bush fire season.
The firefighter, a veteran 59-year-old field officer whose name was not released, died after being struck by a tree late Sunday while working on a bush f…
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The firefighter died after being struck by a tree. Dozens of homes in two states have been lost as hot, windy conditions point to a challenging fire season.
Firefighters at work in Koolewong in the Australian state of New South Wales on Saturday.Credit...Dan Himbrechts/Australian Associated Press, via Reuters
Dec. 8, 2025, 12:56 a.m. ET
A firefighter was killed in Australia on Sunday while battling one of several blazes burning in different parts of the country that have destroyed homes and prompted evacuations, in what officials warned could be a challenging bush fire season.
The firefighter, a veteran 59-year-old field officer whose name was not released, died after being struck by a tree late Sunday while working on a bush fire in Bulahdelah in the state of New South Wales, about three hours north of Sydney, according to the state’s national parks and wildlife service.
At least 16 homes have been destroyed by fires in the state, where dozens of fires were being fueled by high temperatures, strong winds and dry conditions. More than 1,100 personnel were deployed to 75 fires across New South Wales, of which 19 were not contained, the state premier, Chris Minns, said on Sunday. Most of the fires were burning in rural or sparsely populated areas.
Wildfires have also been burning in recent days in the states of Victoria and Tasmania. At least 19 homes in Tasmania, an island south of mainland Australia, have been destroyed or damaged by the fires, which have now been contained, according to the local authorities.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia offered his condolences and cautioned that conditions were pointing to a challenging fire season, particularly for New South Wales, the country’s most populous state.
“This summer, of course, like all summers that would appear in recent times, is going to be a difficult one,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the national broadcaster, on Sunday.
New South Wales has issued natural disaster declarations for communities affected by the fires. The state was the hardest-hit part of the country during the so-called Black Summer bush fires of 2019 and 2020, the most destructive in recent memory.
Victoria Kim is the Australia correspondent for The New York Times, based in Sydney, covering Australia, New Zealand and the broader Pacific region.
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