 Complete the following phrase:  , the fires burnt an estimated , destroyed over 5,900 buildings including 2,779 homes and killed at least 34 people. Nearly three billion terrestrial vertebrates alonethe vast majority being reptileswere affected and some endangered species were believed to be driven to extinction. At its peak, air quality dropped to hazardous levels in all southern and eastern states. The cost of dealing with the bushfires is expected to exceed the 4.4 billion of the 