Tasmania fires destroy huge swath of wilderness and could ‘burn for weeks’

Bushfires in western Tasmania have forced some to evacuate Zeehan, Corinna and other small communities. Photograph: David Tiddy/AAP

Fires that have razed 90,000 hectares of Tasmanian wilderness, including parts of the famous Overland walking track, could burn for weeks as firefighters battle to contain blazes in remote terrain.

By late on Friday, more than 20 fires – which were sparked by dry lightning strikes on 3 February – had a combined perimeter of about 1,200km in the state’s north-west.