One man was killed as summer wildfires raged through thousands of hectares in Australia, threatening homes, farms and a major holiday resort on Thursday. The body of a man was found after his secluded house was engulfed by a bushfire in rural Willunga in South Australia state, police said.

A distant neighbour, Andrew Matthews, said he and his son Raymond rushed to the property after seeing the orange glow of flames.

"We tried to fight it but it was too hot, too difficult. We're devastated we couldn't get to him."

In the country's east, residents of the New South Wales ski and hiking resort of Thredbo were preparing for an assault against a firefront which earlier forced the evacuation of more than 700 tourists.

The fire was just a few kilometres from the pretty mountain resort late Thursday.

"At this stage we believe it will be moving into the Thredbo Village itself," said Rural Fire Service spokesman Rebel Talbert.

"Hopefully, with the cooler conditions we've got, the fire will come through when it is much easier to control."

Overnight rain had helped restrain the blaze, but high temperatures are expected to return at the weekend.

In the south, fighfighting crews in Victoria were bracing for sizzling conditions on Saturday with hot winds and high temperatures expected across the state.

One of several wildfires in Victoria, near Tatong, has razed five homes, killed 80 farm animals and wiped out 1,000 hectares of plantations.

The fires, many started by lightning strikes in tinder-dry country, have burnt more than a million hectares across the state.

Some 2,500 firefighters from Australia, New Zealand and Canada are battling the blazes, which have also killed tens of thousands of wild animals.

earlier related report

Snakes Head For Town As Australian Drought Bites

Sydney (AFP) Jan 18 – Three people have died from snakebites in Australia as a harsh drought drives venomous reptiles into urban areas, officials and experts warned Thursday. More people could be bitten as increasing numbers of snakes move into residential and business areas in search of moisture, Victoria state health minister Bronwyn Pike said.

"If you see a snake, don't go near it, and if you do unfortunately happen to be bitten by a snake, make sure you get urgent medical attention as soon as possible," Pike said.

"In the intervening time, stay calm, apply a pressure bandage and then, hopefully, we won't have any of the tragic consequences we've seen most recently."

A teenager bitten in the country's most populous city Sydney last week staggered onto a suburban cricket ground before collapsing and being rushed to hospital, where he died.

The 16-year-old boy was one of three people bitten by snakes in the past week and one of three killed by eastern brown snakes, considered to be among the world's deadliest, this southern hemisphere summer.

"Across Australia we're seeing far more snakebites than we have had for many years," George Braitberg, co-director of a statewide toxicology centre at Austin Hospital, told the national AAP news agency.

"The message still remains that people can die in this country from snakebite even in the 21st century," said Australian Venom Research Unit director Ken Winkel.

Source: Agence France-Presse