Residents and tourists on South Australia's Kangaroo Island have been urged to head for Kingscote or Penneshaw to seek refuge from a bushfire burning out of control.
The two towns were considered places of safety, although a Country Fire Service warning message instructed people to stay alert in the area as conditions were changing continually.
Kangaroo Island's Ravine fire is seen from the air. Source: South Australian Country Fire Service
Almost the entire island was subject to either an emergency warning or watch and act advice by early Saturday morning.
Homes and other property are feared lost but no confirmation is expected until the immediate threat reduces.
The blaze has been burning for several days but broke containment lines on Friday amid very hot and windy conditions.
It had already destroyed more than 14,000 hectares of scrub in and around the Flinders Chase National Park before a wind shift pushed it towards Vivonne Bay, on the island's south coast.
The watch and act warning also covered the central town of Parndana, home to about 150 people.
A watch and act warning was also in place on Friday night for a fire burning near Kersbrook in the Adelaide Hills.
The fire was near, but not within, the perimeter of another fire which burnt through 25,000 hectares in the Hills two weeks ago.
