Australian hillside on fire ‘looks like it’s covered in lava’

Terrifying photographs show an Australian hillside almost entirely in flames.

The eerie glow taken at twilight ‘looked like lava’, as the fires dotted the landscape close to a town in rural Victoria.

Melissa Ericksen posted the picture on Facebook, saying: ‘Balmattum Hill is really glowing tonight, however not as much as all of our incredible and selfless emergency services. Thank you.’

Speaking to news.com.au, she said: ‘Balmattum Hill is a place I have walked all my life and it appeared to be covered in lava under the darkness.

‘The photo is beautiful yet terrifying.

‘Our emergency services did an incredible job containing the fire and preventing any loss of houses.’

The pictures were taken in Euroa yesterday, a town in north east Victoria, south east Australia.

Bush fires in Australia have ravaged three states, claiming 24 lives and destroying almost 2,000 homes.

Around half a billion animals are estimated to have perished in the flames.

The latest fatality occurred at Batlow in New South Wales, where a 47-year-old man died yesterday night while defending the home of a friend from encroaching fires.

New South Wales police said the man was found unconscious in a vehicle and could not be revived.

Earlier on Saturday, a father and son who were battling flames for two days died on a highway on Kangaroo Island, off South Australia state.

Authorities identified them as Dick Lang, a 78-year-old acclaimed bush pilot and outback safari operator, and his 43-year-old son, Clayton. Their family said their losses left them ‘heartbroken and reeling from this double tragedy.’

The deadly wildfires, which have been raging since September, have already burned about 5 million hectares of land.

Australia’s capital Canberra was enveloped in a smoky haze today and air quality at midday was measured at 10 times the usual hazardous limit.

In New Zealand the skies above Auckland were tinged orange by smoke from the bushfires and police were inundated with calls from anxious residents.