Australian PM urges donations to fire recovery

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged Australians to make donations in cash to help support the recovery effort as he toured the bushfire-devastated areas of Kangaroo island on Wednesday.

"Let's just make sure that you're putting cash in because that's what they need," Morrison told reporters after he toured the island of which nearly one-third has been devastated by the fires.

Located off the coast of South Australia state, Kangaroo Island is about 50% larger than Rhode Island and home to 4,500 people and what was a thriving ecotourism industry.

The fires, fuelled by drought and the country's hottest and driest year on record, have been raging since September, months earlier than is typical for Australia's annual wildfire season.

So far, the blazes have killed 25 people, destroyed 2,000 homes and scorched an area twice the size of the US state of Maryland.