This article is more than 8 months old

This article is more than 8 months old

Two people have died in a bushfire that continues to burn uncontrolled on South Australia’s Kangaroo Island.

The bodies were found on the Playford Highway outside Parndana, emergency services said on Saturday. It appeared that flames had overrun the vehicle. A police forensic team was on its way to the scene.

There have been no other reports of people missing or injuries but three fire crews endured burn-overs in their trucks.

A watch and act warning remains in place for the fire, which has now destroyed about 100,000 hectares, including large parts of the Flinders Chase national park.

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The South Australian premier, Steven Marshall, said the deaths were tragic news.

“Our hearts go out to the families of those people who have been affected,” he said. “It really does reiterate the very important message that people listen to the alerts. This a very dangerous situation on Kangaroo Island.”

Significant property losses are expected from the fire, with major damage to tourism and other infrastructure.

About 500 firefighters will continue to battle the blaze at the weekend, with crews and other resources brought in from the SA mainland.

The blaze broke out late last month and was burning within containment lines before extreme weather conditions on Friday allowed it to breach the defences, with the fire described as “virtually unstoppable” as it began to spread quickly.

Emily Burley (@emilyburley) CFS says Kangaroo Island fire has now burnt a total of 155,889 ha with a perimeter of over 300 km. #safires@SkyNewsAust @SkyWeatherAUS

At one stage the entire island was subject to either an emergency warning or watch and act advice, with only the towns of Kingscote and Penneshaw on the east coast considered safe places.

The local state MP, Leon Bignell, said it had been a long night for those on the island, with people camped out on the Kingscote oval and others taking shelter in a school gymnasium. “People over here are in shock, they’re scared, they’re frightened,” he told ABC radio on Saturday.

By Saturday morning, the situation had eased with cooler conditions providing an opportunity for fire crews to work on establishing fresh defences. But the Country Fire Service chief officer, Mark Jones, said it was expected the fire would continue to burn for several days.

Marshall said the government had appointed a community recovery officer and would look at what additional support islanders would need in the coming days.

“It’s clear that South Australia has had an extraordinarily difficult time with extensive damage right across our state,” he said. “Our focus at the moment is doing everything that we possibly can to contain the fire on Kangaroo Island. But very quickly our focus will move on to recovery.”

Marshall said he had also spoken to Scott Morrison on Saturday with the prime minister offering “all the support that is required”.

At one stage on Friday, the blaze had threatened Parndana and Vivonne Bay, which were both evacuated, but both towns were spared any major damage.

The luxury Southern Ocean Lodge on the island’s west coast was not so lucky, though the owners said all guests were moved to Kingscote or Adelaide before the threat intensified.

Six staff stayed to monitor the situation and activate the facility’s emergency plan but all had since been accounted for and were uninjured.

On Saturday afternoon aerial footage show the lodge devastated by the blaze.

7NEWS Adelaide (@7NewsAdelaide) Staff at the world-famous Southern Ocean Lodge have vowed to rebuild, as pictures reveal the devastating impact of the Kangaroo Island bushfire crisis. The latest in 7NEWS at 6pm. https://t.co/qn1ED7MfjR #KIfires #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/o6HO3rEliO

The operators of the Sealink ferry service said up to 300 people were at a relief centre in Kingscote seeking passage to the mainland and it was working with authorities to get them on board as soon as possible. The operators of the Kangaroo Island Connect ferry had also offered their services to move people off the island.

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The Country Fire Service regional commander, Nick Stanley, said fresh fire crews had been sent to Kangaroo Island and firefighting numbers would swell to about 500 as efforts continued to bring the situation under control. He said an aerial assessment of the fire ground would be conducted.

Fire crews in the Adelaide Hills were also called into action on Friday night when a blaze flared at Kersbrook. It burnt about 18 hectares before being quickly contained but prompted an emergency warning for nearby residents.

The Bureau of Meteorology said a change that swept through overnight had brought cooler conditions to most of SA while a rain band could result in some significant falls in the state’s north.