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Australian fires equivalent to all of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois being burned

Bushfires have burned more than 12.5 million acres as of Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, according to authorities in Australia. Fires have been raging out of control sinc...

Bushfires have burned more than 12.5 million acres as of Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, according to authorities in Australia.

Fires have been raging out of control since late 2018, as a weather pattern broke records for heat and lack of humidity.

Australian fires equivalent to all of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois being burned

To put the fires in perspective, the same land area that's been burned is equivalent to a fire with boundaries of Keokuk, Cedar Rapids and Dubuque, Iowa, and Rockford, Bloomington and Springfield, Illinois.

It's important to point out that this is just what's been burned to date, but the fire season in Australia is expected to last several more months.

Australian fires equivalent to all of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois being burned

The fires in Australia are throughout the entire country, which is a continent roughly the same size as the Continental United States.

-Meteorologist Eric Sorensen

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