Strong winds in Australia are hampering efforts to control bushfires raging for months.

The death toll now stands at nearly two-dozen.

And several of the fires have merged.

Now the government is doing something for the first time - to help firefighters battle the flames.

CGTN's Jack Barton reports.

Char Miller, Director of Environmental Analysis at Pomona College, talked with CGTN's Sean Callebs about the prospects for bringing Australia's wildfires under control.