Three Napier brothers ran through a shower of hot, falling ash to wake neighbours and rescue an elderly woman from her burning home.

Coal-fired power stations in Australia emit around 200 million tonnes of CO2a year. This does not include emissions from our coal exports.

Australia's bushfire crisis has resumed with a fury after a brief weekend respite, yesterday claiming at least 33 homes in northern New South Wales with fears for more losses.

Northland firefighters helping battle devastating bushfires in Tasmania have had to deal with another natural phenomenon - an earthquake.

Farmers and landowners of "tinderbox dry" land on the outskirts of Christchurch should soon receive a reprieve with rain due to sweep in tomorrow.

Tinder-dry conditions in Canterbury mean fire crews are remaining on high alert.

Five fire crews are fighting a blaze in a paddock near Lake Hood in Ashburton.

Canterbury firefighters were preparing for the worst again last night after another frantic day battling scrub fires in the tinder-dry region.

Photos of the aftermath as scrub fires destroyed cars, farms and properties near Prebbleton in Christchurch.

Fire service crews respond to callouts as strong winds sweep multiple blazes through dry fields and over roads south of Christchurch.

A teenage boy is lucky to be alive after he woke up to find his bed on fire. It is a harsh wake-up call about the need for smoke alarms, say fire authorities.

A bakery manager called 911 - because he mistakenly thought it was the right number - to alert emergency services to a fire which gutted part of his business in Akaroa yesterday.

Homes were destroyed and families forced to flee as scrub fires burned out of control in Canterbury. Strong winds swept multiple blazes through dry fields and over roads south of Christchurch.

A classic bach that featured in an insurance advertisement has burned to the ground, devastating its owners and the local community.

Farmers and conservationists are bracing for the effects of the bushfires still raging down the eastern states.

Four houses have been engulfed and destroyed, and people have been evacuated as large fires burn south of Christchurch.

Fifteen fires are burning out of control in NSW with firefighters battling 126 fronts, two days after NSW was hit with heatwave conditions.

A small tornado in Kaikoura has lifted a roof and brought down power lines in the south island coastal township.