Photos: Australian beach towns ablaze as wildfire crisis intensifies

Three people have died, five more are unaccounted for, and scores of properties were feared destroyed after a brutal 24 hours in which flames reached well-populated towns like Batemans Bay, normally bursting with visitors during Australia's summer holidays. Above: The afternoon sky glows orange from bushfires in the area around the town of Nowra in the Australian state of New South Wales.

In seaside communities along a 200-kilometre strip of coast, terrified crowds - wrapped in blankets and wearing make-shift facemasks - sought refuge from the inferno near the water. Above: Firefighters are seen as they try to protect homes around Charmhaven, New South Wales.

Some with boats earlier took to the sea in near-darkness, hoping to find safety, as one of the worst days yet in Australia's months-long bushfire crisis prompted a military deployment to help relief efforts. Above: People evacuate to a lake to escape wildfires Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019, in Ulladulla, New South Wales.

A fire is extinguished behind a house in Mollymook, New south Wales, Australia

A tree burns around the town of Nowra in the Australian state of New South Wales

A helicopter fighting a bushfire near Bairnsdale in Victoria's East Gippsland region

The afternoon sky glows red from bushfires in the area around the town of Nowra in the Australian state of New South Wales

Officials block the Princes Highway as wildfires approach in South Coast, New South Wales Australia

The remains of burnt out buildings are seen along main street in the New South Wales town of Cobargo, after bushfires ravaged the town

Firefighters hose down trees as they battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra in the Australian state of New South Wales on December 31, 2019. Thousands of holidaymakers and locals were forced to flee to beaches in fire-ravaged southeast Australia on December 31, as blazes ripped through popular tourist areas leaving no escape by land. / AFP / SAEED KHAN

A burnt-out residence is seen in Sarsfield, East Gippsland, Victoria

Vehicles are parked during a road closure as smoke rises in the rear, in Brogo, new South Wales, Australia

A firefighter walks past burning trees during a battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra in the Australian state of New South Wales

The remains of burnt out buildings are seen along main street in the New South Wales town of Cobargo, after bushfires ravaged the town

A crowd of people at the beach evacuate from the bushfires at Batemans Bay, Australia

Firefighters hose down trees as they battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra in the Australian state of New South Wales

Children play at the showgrounds in the southern New South Wales town of Bega where they are camping after being evacuated from nearby sites affected by bushfires

The remains of burnt out buildings are seen along main street in the New South Wales town of Cobargo, after bushfires ravaged the town

Firefighters hose down trees as they battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra in the Australian state of New South Wales

People sit and wait at the showgrounds in the southern New South Wales town of Bega where they are camping after being evacuated from nearby sites affected by bushfires