"PERTH, Australia -- Australian police and defense forces searched burned-out vehicles and homes in the towns worst hit by wildfires on the island of Tasmania, where more than 40 fires still raged on Sunday."

"The blazes began on Thursday on the state's thinly populated southeastern coast, amid a fierce heatwave and strong winds.

The heat eased over the weekend, slowing the fires, but late on Sunday firefighters issued an emergency warning for residents in Taranna, 47 km (29 miles) east of the state capital Hobart, where a fire burning for more than three days threatened residents."

Morag MacKinnon reports for Reuters January 6, 2013. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Australia Braces for 'Catastrophic' Wildfire Day" (Reuters) [3]