BAD WEATHER HAMPERS FIREMEN BATTLING 6-WEEK FIRE ON AUSTRALIA ISLE

Firefighters on continued to battle a blaze that has been burning for more than six weeks on Australia's Fraser Island and has destroyed more than half of the world-heritage-listed national park, Annika Burgess reported for the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

The fire on the popular holiday island off Queensland's coast - also known as K’gari - has grown in size and intensity this week due to heatwaves along the country's east coast. So far, more than 80,000 hectares of land have been burned - around 50 per cent of the island - and more than 1 million liters of water have been dumped on the blaze.

The bush fire was burning in several locations with weather conditions continuing to "exacerbate fire and smoke conditions." Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) said they are working in conjunction with the Butchulla Aboriginal Corp. to limit the spread of the fire and minimize environmental and cultural impacts.

Earlier, on the western side of the island, emergency services managed to successfully shift a fire front 2 kilometers away from the popular Kingfisher Bay Resort, which had been under significant threat. Ground crews are being assisted by water bombers and heavy plant equipment to contain the blazes.