Australia wildfires destroy homes, darken Sydney skies

SYDNEY - Hundreds of homes are feared to have been destroyed by intense wildfires that tore across southeastern Australia in ferocious wind conditions Thursday, darkening Sydney's skies with smoke and ash, firefighters said.

Five major blazes were burning across the state of New South Wales, fanned by high, erratic winds in unseasonably warm 34 degree Celsius (93 Fahrenheit) weather, as infernos in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney plunged the city into an eerie, ash-flecked darkness.