they re talking that some of these flames may not even be put out until late january, early february, which is extraordinary. and we have 116 homes already destroyed. that beautiful landscape is totally scorched in areas. and you re talking about route 101 in california. you ve got the sea on one side and mountains on the other. picture this in australia, and you have almost a carbon copy. it s a very similar situation to what you saw in california in australia. 116 homes destroyed. but for those people whose homes are no more, what happens with them now? this is the worst part about a bush fire. we should say thankfully, no one has lost their life. it is important to stress that, because in the past, bush fires have proven fatal in australia. but this is a really heartbreaking situation, taking the locals of lawn and y river
looms. ventura county is home to an oil field. it is conceivable the fire could make its way there. you can see a lot of smoke. whether we open something up, it s still a dynamic situation. and it could change, even if we do open up the roadways is that it s still not a contained fire. so i just want to caution is that any openings that do happen, that is subject to being closed again if the fire changes direction. reporter: firefighters are working to head off disaster, unfortunately, after the worst drought in 100 years, this is a scene sure to be repeated far too many times in 2016. that was cnn s sara sidner reporting for us. and now to australia where crews are working to fully contain brush fires that destroyed at least 100 homes in victoria state. the fire has also shut down part of the great ocean road, a popular scenic highway. officials are warning that dry conditions could make the
situation with the fires worse and cause more fires. for more on this, let s bring in cnn producer joel lobby. you are from australia and can give us a sense of what s happening. what s the latest? the latest is that the fire authorities are saying that the fire is subdued, but not under control. so what they re looking at at the moment is containing, building containment lines around these towns south of lawn, a very popular tourist area. they re trying to make sure the flames don t spread. new year s eve and new year s day, they re expecting over 100 degrees fahrenheit. these are conditions that if the winds whip up, this is just, could be a catastrophic fire condition. and the blaze is already big enough. i just want to let you know that the intensity of the blaze as well, the emergency management commissioner who is essentially heading up the operation to stop
victoria state. the fires had been subdued, but not before destroying nearly 100 homes. parts of great ocean road, a popular scene eck highway were also shut down. emergency officials say dry conditions could cause more fires. and for more on these fires, i m joined by cnn producer, joel lobby, and joel from australia, you can obviously tell us what s happening there. the late east terminology that they are using is that this blaze is subdued but not contained yet. what we can read into is that they have some sort of control over the flames. there isn t enough wind to make it a threat to anymore homes for the time being. but new year s eve, new year s day, that is the time period of most concern to them. because temperatures in australia, temperatures in victoria, i should say, are going to be hitting the mid to high 30s celsius, over 100 degrees fahrenheit, and that coupled with potentially stronger winds could really fan this blaze out.
the threat from terrorism is real, but we will overcome it. and the number one political story, the donald. redefining what it means to be a republican presidential candidate. when mexico sends its people, they re not sending their best. his blunt, some say bigoted behavior was met with outrage and a seemingly unstoppable rise in republican primary poll numbers. and frankly, i m the most solid person up here. will he win the white house next we re, or will america say you re fired ? that as jake tapper with the political top ten. and now to a recap on our top story this hour. the extreme weather around the world this day from tornados to flooding and even wildfires. in australia, the fire, a mammoth bush fire might keep burning into the new year. four latin-american countries