PBS高端访谈:澳大利亚大火不容乐观（在线收听）

JUDY WOODRUFF: Vast swathes of Australia are still burning tonight, with forecasts of worse to come, and thousands of people ordered to evacuate. A record summer fire season has charred 12 million acres, destroyed 1,400 homes, and left 17 people dead. New South Wales and Victoria states are hardest hit, but fires are also burning across the rest of the country. Dan Rivers of Independent Television News reports from New South Wales, where whole communities are in ashes.

MAN: Look at that burn.

DAN RIVERS: In Conjola Park on New Year's Eve, it felt like the world was ending, not just the year. The wildfire swept through in minutes.

Here, local resident Peter Ruetman films as the fire approached his neighbor's house. This is all that's left. And Peter's home didn't survive either.

PETER RUETMAN, Fire Victim: I jumped in the car. It was so hot. The heat, I can't describe how hot it was, and the ferocity and the speed of this fire. Anyone that thought they were going to beat this fire were really taking life into their own hands.

DAN RIVERS: Pascale Hegarty hasn't experienced fear like this since she escaped the war in Lebanon.

PASCALE HEGARTY, Fire Victim: Unbelievable. You could hear trees, gas bottles exploding. It was like a war zone. I have lived in war zone, and that's what it reminded me of, yes.

DAN RIVERS: For those who have lost everything they own, the only comfort is knowing family and friends survived. This is what happens when one of these firestorms collides with a community. This is all that's left of Conjola Park, where at least 89 homes have been destroyed and one person killed. You can see it was literally hot enough to melt cars. And what's so worrying is, just a few miles down the coast, there are other placing facing exactly the same prospect. The Princes Highway is the only way out, and, right now, it's closed, a 200-mile traffic jam as the clock ticks down to more searing heat and fire risk this weekend.

LUCY VU NGUYEN, Australia: I would like to get home. I would like to not have to sleep in my car tonight. But I know there are probably others who, sort of, don't have food in the car and water with them. And the night will be quite tough for them, I think.

DAN RIVERS: The Australian navy have been evacuating people from Mallacoota, where 4,000 people were stranded on the beach, exposed to choking smoke, and doing what they can to protect vulnerable lungs as they leave. The town may be cut off for weeks. With water supplies out, they're being brought in by boat, as the smoke means it's too dangerous to fly. A state of emergency has been declared, as Australia's prime minister fends off accusations of failing to grip this crisis. In Cobargo, residents refused to shake his hand, heckling him as he visited the devastated town.

WOMAN: How come we only had four trucks to defend our town? Because our town doesn't have a lot of money. But we have hearts of gold, Mr. Prime Minister.

SCOTT MORRISON, Australian Prime Minister: I think that the strength of the individuals, as we have just seen on display here, I think that says everything about Australia, and the spirit that will get them through this weekend, and the spirit will help them rebuild.

DAN RIVERS: Some are already blaming climate change for the three-year drought which has preceded this crisis, reeling from what they have lost, but they know there may be more to come this weekend.

JUDY WOODRUFF: That report from Dan Rivers of Independent Television News.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：今晚，澳大利亚的许多地方依然受火灾侵扰，预报还称情况只会更加糟糕，数千人接到疏散的命令。史无前例的夏日火季波及了1200公顷的土地，让1400户人家流离失所，17人因此死亡。新南威尔士州和维多利亚州是受影响最严重的，不过火势依然在全国范围内持续传播着。英国独立电视台的记者丹·里弗斯从新南威尔士州发回了报道，那里已一片狼藉。

男：看看这儿烧的样子。

丹·里弗斯：跨年日当天，康乔拉公园宛如世界末日，景象异常惨烈。大火分分钟席卷了整个公园。在这里，当地居民皮特拍下了火势迫近自己临近房子的过程。现在只剩下了这些残骸。就连皮特的家也没能幸免于难。

皮特，大火的受害者：我跳进了车里，温度太高了。任何觉得自己能扑灭这场大火的人都是在拿自己的生命开玩笑。

丹·里弗斯：帕斯卡莱自从逃离了黎巴嫩的战争以来，就再未经历过这样的恐惧了。帕斯卡莱，大火的受害者：难以置信啊。你都能听到树木、煤气瓶爆炸的声音。这里就像战区一样。我曾在战区生活过，这里的情况让我想起了战区。

丹·里弗斯：对于那些失去了自己所有的人来说，唯一的慰藉是知道家人朋友还活着。当大火侵袭一个社群时，就会发生这样的情况。康乔拉公园里只剩下这些了，这里至少89户人家被毁，1人死亡。这里的温度高的都可以将车融化。让人心忧的是：在距离海岸仅几英里的地方，还有其他一些地方也面临着受到大火侵袭的可能性。王子高速公路是唯一能向外走的路，现在这条路也封锁了，绵延200英里的交通堵塞还在进行中。而时间正一刻不停地向前走着，高温与火势本周末蔓延到这里的风险在不断增加。

露西·阮，澳大利亚：我想回家。我今天不想睡在车里。但我知道现在很有可能还有其他人在车里食不果腹，也没有水喝。我想晚上他们会很难熬。

丹·里弗斯：澳大利亚海军一直在将人群从马拉库塔疏散出来。这里有4000人困在沙滩上，被烟熏着，在撤离的过程中尽可能地保护着自己脆弱的肺。这座小镇可能要隔绝几周之久。现在完全没有水源，他们乘船来到这里。而因为有烟的缘故，所以坐飞机是很危险的。这里已经宣布了紧急状态，澳大利亚总理还在为自己没能掌控这场危机而辩解。科巴哥的居民拒绝与他握手，在他访问这座满目疮痍的小镇时还对他起哄。

女：我们竟然只有4辆卡车来守卫小镇，怎么可能？因为我们镇没钱吗？但我们有很多金子啊，总理先生。

斯科特·莫里森，澳大利亚总理：我想，个人的力量已经在刚才的情景中得到展现。我想这表明了澳大利亚的特质，表明我们挺过这周末的景深，这种精神也将帮助澳大利亚人民重建家园。

丹·里弗斯：有些人已经在抱怨气候变化了，他们说气候变化是导致3年旱灾的罪魁祸首。而旱灾之后就发生了大火的危机。因痛失自己的所有而心痛欲裂，但他们都知道这周末还有更多狂风暴雨要挺过。

朱迪·伍德拉夫：以上是英国独立电视台记者丹·里弗斯发回的报道。