Family escapes 'tornadoes of fire' by clinging to jetty

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A grandfather in Tasmania recounts how he saved his five grandchildren by taking sheltering under a jetty in the sea for three hours as wildfires raged around them. ITV's Paul Davies reports.By Jason Cumming, NBC NewsAs "tornadoes of fire" roared toward their home, the Holmes family fled and then jumped into the sea, clinging to a jetty for three hours to escape wildfires that have devastated Australia.

The blaze spread swiftly in the Tasmanian town of Dunalley, Tim Holmes said. "The next thing we knew everything was on fire, everywhere, all around us," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Holmes said he sent his wife Tammy and their five grandchildren -- who are aged between almost 2 and 11 --  to the jetty to seek refuge from the flames, which destroyed three homes owned by the family. "There was no other escape," he added.

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