Hundreds of koalas are feared to have died in wildfires raging along Australia’s east coast.

The fire started on Friday after a lightning strike hit a forest in the state of New South Wales.

The blaze has since burned through 4,900 acres.

Sue Ashton, the president of Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, said two-thirds of the area, 300km north of Sydney, was koala habitat.

“If we look at a 50 per cent survival rate, that’s around about 350 koalas and that’s absolutely devastating,” the conservationist said.

“We’re hoping it’s not as bad as that, but because of the intensity of the fire and the way koala’s behave during fire, we’re not holding out too much hope.”

She added: “It’s a national…