Australia deploys military as thousands stranded by wildfires

• The bodies of three more people were found in fires on New South Wales' South Coast, the NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner told a news conference Wednesday afternoon local time.
• A man's body was found inside a burnt-out car off a major highway on the South Coast, state police said hours earlier before that announcement.
• In Victoria, a 67-year-old man was found dead in his East Gippsland home, the Herald Sun reports.

Evacuations: People in Batemans Bay, NSW, have evacuated to the beach to escape bushfires, per 9 News. The town of nearly 16,000 people on the state's south coast attracts some 2 million visitors a year.

• 4,000 people fled to the beach at the East Gippsland town of Mallacoota in Victoria after evacuating there, fire authorities say.

The victims: The death toll from the wildfires now stands at 17 following several days of intense conditions amid searing heat in Australia's southeast.

The big picture: The Australian Defense Force has been assisting with firefighting efforts in the states of New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria and South Australia since Nov. 8, the government says.

• Australia's wildfires are so intense, smoke from the blazes has traveled over 1,200 miles to blanket parts of New Zealand's South Island.

Go deeper:

• In photos: Deadly wildfires rage across Australia
• Thousands of koalas likely dead in Australia fires
• Australia wildfires' devastating impact on iconic wildlife
• Australia swelters through hottest day on record

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.