The fires, fueled 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 28 people and nearly half a billion animals, destroyed 2,000 homes, and scorched an area of more than 25.5 million acres -- roughly the size of South Korea.

Intense thunderstorms have brought hail and strong rains to some regions of Australia, where bushfires have been burning at an unprecedented scale.

Farmers and firefighters alike celebrated the rain, which has helped disperse smoke in Melbourne and could dampen bushfires. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology, however, has been weary to celebrate, calling the thunderstorms a “double edge sword.” The storms have ushered in a host of new problems like flooding while exacerbating old ones; lightning strikes have sparked at least two new fires in the Great Otway National Park.

NAPLES, Fla. — A curious pod of dolphins put on quite a show for some Florida firefighters earlier this week.Video posted Wednesday by Naples Fire Rescue shows the playful pod leaping out of the water behind a moving boat.Firefighter Michael Neal says on the video that he “wanted to pet one,” kneeling down and putting his hand into the water.Neal spoke with WTSP in Tampa and said they were concluding a boat safety check on Monday when the dolphins paid them a visit, sticking around a few minutes.