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New Zealand sends help to fight new Australian wild fires

Xinhua, January 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

A team of 43 New Zealand firefighters will head to Australia on Friday to help battle fires raging in the island state of Tasmania, New Zealand fire authorities said Thursday.

The three-week deployment would see crews initially concentrate on containing fires in World Heritage sites in the west and southwest of Tasmania where the fire risk was extreme, National Rural Fire Officer Kevin O'Connor said in a statement.

Their "tall timber" experience -- cutting containment lines through stands of big trees -- would be especially useful, he said.

About 80 fires are burning throughout Tasmania, most started by lightning strikes and fueled by drought conditions and strong winds.

The group would be joined by teams from the New Zealand Defence Force team and Department of Conservation.

It was New Zealand's 11th deployment of firefighters to Australia since 2001.

A team of 45 firefighters returned from Australia earlier this week after battling fires along the southwest coast in the state of Victoria. Endit