South Australia: 26 homes and 41 sheds wiped out in raging bushfires

The shell of a house in Greenwith, in Adelaides outer suburbs, on Monday. Photograph: David Mariuz/AAP

More than two dozen homes have been destroyed as South Australias worst bushfires since the 1983 Ash Wednesday blaze continue to rage in the Adelaide Hills, with dangerous weather conditions forecast for the next two days.

The weekends firestorm eased slightly on Monday, but the South Australian premier, Jay Weatherill, said 11 live fires were still burning and sudden flare-ups and falling trees presented a very clear danger.

We know we are in a dangerous phase when people are getting fatigued, people have a false sense of security because it appears the worst is over, he said. Weve got a bit of a way to go until we can relax.

He said 26 homes and 41 outbuildings had been destroyed in the past four days, but that number was expected to climb as authorities accessed burnt-out areas.

Fire has burnt through more than 12,500 hectares of the state since Friday, the most serious blaze in the Sampson Flat area, in the Mount Lofty Ranges about 38km north-west of Adelaide. More than 1100 properties lie in the fire-affected areas.

More than 700 firefighters, aided by 10 water-bombing aircraft, have battled the flames, with reinforcements from New South Wales and Victoria due to arrive within the next 24 hours.

Strong winds forecast for Monday evening are causing concern, while firefighters work to strengthen containment lines ahead of temperatures in the high 30s forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday.

A total of 29 people had been hospitalised, including one suffering a serious asthma attack. Dozen of animals also perished in the inferno, which tore through a boarding kennel and cattery at the weekend and continues to threaten wildlife sanctuaries in the Adelaide Hills.

The cause of the fire remains unknown, but the South Australian police commissioner, Gary Burns, said an incinerator on a Sampson Flat property was the likely source.

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South Australia: 26 homes and 41 sheds wiped out in raging bushfires