Waiting for a megafire: the battle against Australia's biggest blaze

The Gospers Mountain fire has consumed hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest and is now threatening towns and lives

The fire is two kilometres away, but the heat is already beginning to warm the faces of those who wait.

The air is eerily still. There is no wind. There are no birds. There is no natural noise, just the distant chatter of helicopters in the sky, flying between water source and flames.