The sky has turned an apocalyptic shade of red, and thousands of people have evacuated onto the beach in the Australian town of Mallacoota as a destructive wildfire approaches.

Pictures of the red sky and falling embers are trickling onto social media as thousands of residents and tourists in the eastern Victoria town, about 400 miles south of Sydney, seek refuge from the oncoming blaze and prepare to escape into the Tasman Sea if the fire comes closer.

Social media users reported wearing goggles in order to see and covering their skin with towels to protect themselves from falling ash and embers. The sound of wailing emergency sirens added a shrill note to a constant roar of the fire.

Victoria state Fire Commissioner Andrew Crisp said 4,000 people were sheltering on the beach.