Australian fires burn through koala colonies, killing hundreds: 'It's a national tragedy'

John Bacon | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Fire leaves koalas seeking refuge Lake Innes Nature Reserve in Australia recently lost two-thirds of its koala habitat due to a wildfire. Veuer’s Tony Spitz has the details.

Unprecedented bushfires raging in eastern Australia have killed at least four people and devastated wildlife in the region, killing hundreds of koalas and burning through their colonies so badly the animals may land on the endangered species list.

More than 100 fires racing through New South Wales and Queensland since last week have destroyed more than 300 homes and forced thousands to evacuate.

The fires ripped through a major koala colony in the Lake Innes Nature Reserve, once home to about 600 koalas, and continue to spread to other koala habitats.

"We are very, very concerned,” Koala Conservation Australia President Sue Ashton said. “If the wind picks up, we could lose even more habitat and more koalas. It’s just so unpredictable – we don’t know what will happen.”

At the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, more than a dozen of the furry creatures were treated for burns, mostly singed hands and feet, said Clinical Director Cheyne Flanagan. Hundreds have died, she said.

"We crunched the numbers up to 350, but these fires have gotten worse, and the numbers are probably higher," Flanagan told Australia's ABC News. "We are not finding bodies because they are incinerating to ash."

Flanagan said the fires will probably result in koalas needing the protection of the endangered species list.

"It's a national tragedy," she said.

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The hospital created a gofundme page to raise $25,000 for automatic drinking stations to help surviving wildlife stay hydrated. The page had drawn more than $500,000 in pledges Thursday.

Queensland and New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, declared a state of emergency.

Firefighters in Queensland were encouraged by cooler conditions, but hot, dry weather persisted in southern New South Wales, where more than 1,600 firefighters worked with the Australian military to slow the spread of fires.

"There's an increased risk with parts of NSW under Very High or Severe fire danger, eight areas under a Total Fire Ban," the Rural Fire Service warned.