Australians face same urban wildfire risks as L.A. County

Millions of people living on the expanding outskirts of Australia's major cities face an increasing risk of urban wildfires similar to the deadly blazes in Los Angeles County last year.

- BY KEIRA WRIGHT

Suburbs on the fringes of centers including Sydney, Melbourne and Perth now are home to at least 6.9 million people and, like Los Angeles, have residential areas where homes abut highly flammable grasslands, according to a report published Tuesday by the Climate Council think tank and a group of former Australian fire chiefs.