Image Source: Rural Fire Service BY MADISON MACK ANCHOR ZACH TOOMBS A four month heatwave in Australia has sparked massive brush fires across the country and there’s no end in sight. “Firefighters in Australia are being helped by lower temperatures and wind speeds as they tackle bush fires. Record-breaking heat waves have led to hundreds of fires. Many of these fires are still burning, and some remain out of control.” This spring and summer are the hottest on record. Australia's Bureau of Meteorolog y reported Tuesday’s average high across the entire country was 104 degrees Fahrenheit. It is so hot... “Ice creams had to be eaten quickly.” It’s been so hot recently that the Bureau had to add to add new colors to their weather maps for next week’s forecasts. Shades of purple and pink were added for temperatures above 122 degrees Fahrenheit. The combination of extreme heat, drought and high winds have created catastrophic bushfire conditions, the most severe classification applicable. “100 square miles of land has already been destroyed. More than a 130 fires have been identified with a quarter classified as out of control. But because they are in rural areas and not endangering any lives, they’re being allowed to burn.” And a government scientist tells The New York Times, it doesn’t seem like there’s a light at the tunnel. “This event is turning out to be hotter, more spatially extensive and the duration is quite remarkable … We expect it to stay very hot across inland Australia for the next week... Beyond that, it’s hard to say.”