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NSW and Qld fires: more than 50 out-of-control New South Wales bushfires – live NSW and Qld fires: more than 50 out-of-control New South Wales bushfires – live
(32 minutes later)
Rural Fire Service a firefighter has been injured as New South Wales faces catastrophic fire conditionsRural Fire Service a firefighter has been injured as New South Wales faces catastrophic fire conditions
There’s a lot of smoke over Sydney right now.
Cynthia Lush was home alone in her house across the street from the South Turrumurra bushfire.
“We got a phone call about half an hour [after it started], on the home phones. It was way into the half an hour. I could hear the sirens, that’s what alerted me, then I popped my heard out and they said no get inside.”
Brian Wilson wasn’t remotely worried. The Guardian found him sitting in an outdoor chair in front of his garage, looking across the road where his neighbours’ houses were drenched in bright pink fire retardant.
“We’ve had a couple, but everybody wants to run around. I’m quite happy to just sit here and watch them do it,” he said.
“I’m on the wrong side of the hill, it blows the embers over us. Everybody panics, there’s no point.”
It’s a pretty surreal scene at the South Turramurra fire, where a suspiciously-lit, fast-moving bushfire came perilously close to properties in the affluent Sydney suburb.
Helicopters have hit the fire - and some nearby mansions - with a pink retardant, coating roofs, gardens, and bitumen in a thick layer of pink.
Multiple fires began mid-afternoon in bushland around Turramurra, including at Canoon Road and Field of Mars Avenue, where flames came within metres of homes.
Residents reported towering flames and embers dropping well ahead of the fire front, starting their own fires in the dried out bushland. Geoff Bird lives on Canoon Road, near where one of the fires ripped through bushland on Tuesday afternoon.
His children’s school had been closed in anticipation of fires like this, and he was well prepared.
When Bird saw the fire closest to his house, he immediately packed up, got his wife and kids out, and stayed to monitor the situation.
“I was in my backyard and saw the first plume of smoke and all the firies coming down the road. So I knew something had happened,” he told the Guardian.
“Within half an hour of that I was inside watching the news, keeping an eye on things, and then could smell the smoke and came out to see where it is.
“From there it was a matter of packing up valuable things, we activated our fire plan, so we were ready to go, evacuated my wife and children, and then I stayed and kept a close eye on things.”
Police were on scene quickly and have confirmed they are now treating the fire as suspicious.
“We’ve got to get on top of this shit,” an angry Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce told Karl Stefanovic on 2GB regarding the supposed “red tape” around land clearing, that he has blamed on the Greens.
These claims are, as we reported today, “without foundation” according to experts.
Also it bears repeating, his party has been in government in NSW since 2011, and federally since 2013.
Here comes the southerly.
The Myall Creek Rd fire has crossed the Pacific Highway at New Italy and is moving quickly, according to the RFS.
There are still 13 fires at emergency warning level, and 7 fires at watch and act. The southerly change is expected in Sydney in the next hour or so.There are still 13 fires at emergency warning level, and 7 fires at watch and act. The southerly change is expected in Sydney in the next hour or so.
Good news for Greta residents.Good news for Greta residents.
This is a video provided to us from volunteer firefighter Dan Boswood taken at Lake Mary, west of Yeppoon.This is a video provided to us from volunteer firefighter Dan Boswood taken at Lake Mary, west of Yeppoon.
More than 150 schools and over a dozen Tafe campuses in New South Wales will be closed tomorrow, again.More than 150 schools and over a dozen Tafe campuses in New South Wales will be closed tomorrow, again.
You can find a list of the schools affected here.You can find a list of the schools affected here.
An update on the insurance situation, via my colleague Ben Butler:An update on the insurance situation, via my colleague Ben Butler:
The Insurance Council of Australia says that as of 3pm insurers had received 360 claims for fires in the NSW mid-north coast - 80 of which are suspected total losses.The Insurance Council of Australia says that as of 3pm insurers had received 360 claims for fires in the NSW mid-north coast - 80 of which are suspected total losses.
Initial losses are estimated at $40m, but this figure is likely to rise once people get access to their properties and assess the damage.Initial losses are estimated at $40m, but this figure is likely to rise once people get access to their properties and assess the damage.
The ICA has declared the mid-north coast fires a catastrophe, a technical term in the insurance industry that allows insurers to claim against specialised reinsurance policies, and more areas may follow as the fires across NSW and Queensland continue.The ICA has declared the mid-north coast fires a catastrophe, a technical term in the insurance industry that allows insurers to claim against specialised reinsurance policies, and more areas may follow as the fires across NSW and Queensland continue.
It will issue another update tomorrow, a spokesman said.It will issue another update tomorrow, a spokesman said.
The Liberation Trial fire, which was already at an emergency alert level, has breached containment lines and is threatening Yarracooma, Paddys Plain, Cradle Creek and Lowanna.The Liberation Trial fire, which was already at an emergency alert level, has breached containment lines and is threatening Yarracooma, Paddys Plain, Cradle Creek and Lowanna.
Firefighters are getting the upper hand on the fire at Wine Country Drive.Firefighters are getting the upper hand on the fire at Wine Country Drive.
There are 13 emergency warnings in place.There are 13 emergency warnings in place.
Meanwhile, prime minister Scott Morrison has told his fellow politicians to “take it down a few notches” after the ongoing fight between Nationals MPs Barnaby Joyce, Michael McCormack, and Greens MP Adam Bandt while NSW and Queensland are on fire. Via AAP:Meanwhile, prime minister Scott Morrison has told his fellow politicians to “take it down a few notches” after the ongoing fight between Nationals MPs Barnaby Joyce, Michael McCormack, and Greens MP Adam Bandt while NSW and Queensland are on fire. Via AAP:
“There have been a lot of provocative comments made over the last few days from all sides of the debate and I find it very unhelpful,” Morrison told reporters in Canberra.“There have been a lot of provocative comments made over the last few days from all sides of the debate and I find it very unhelpful,” Morrison told reporters in Canberra.
“The last thing that people in an urgent crisis need at the moment is hearing politicians shout at each other.“The last thing that people in an urgent crisis need at the moment is hearing politicians shout at each other.
“There is a time and a place to debate controversial issues and important issues, right now it’s important to focus on the needs of Australians who need our help.”“There is a time and a place to debate controversial issues and important issues, right now it’s important to focus on the needs of Australians who need our help.”
There are concerns about the coming southerly change, according to this report from AAP.
More than a dozen emergency bushfires are raging across NSW as millions of residents face “catastrophic” fire danger with a southerly wind change expected to make matters even worse.
“We are still concerned with the movement of the southerly change as it heads through NSW over the coming hours,” Rural Fire Service NSW commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters in Sydney.
Fitzsimmons said the southerly change would reach Sydney by 7pm and hit the north of the state late on Tuesday or early Wednesday morning.
“We simply can’t rest easy at this stage. We’ve got many hours left yet of prevailing, hot, dry, windy conditions,” he said.
Fitzsimmons said the day was unfolding as predicted with a million hectares burning.
Bureau of Meteorology state manager Ann Farrell says as the southerly change moves up NSW “the fires will be fanned in a different direction”.
“They’ll be very gusty and quite unpredictable at times - so that will make fire conditions much more dangerous,” she told reporters in Sydney.
Josh Taylor back at the helm for the latest update from NSW RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons for 5.30pm AEDT.There are 85 fires across NSW, and 46 are not contained. There are 14 fires at emergency alert level, and 17 at the watch and act level.
There’s a small fire in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney but that fire has been contained.
A firefighter at Turramurra has suffered suspected fractured arm and ribs.
The earlier report of a cardiac arrest of a firefighter at North Rothbury was thankfully not the case when emergency services arrived.
Fitzsimmons said suspicious activity had not been ruled out in any of the fires, and investigations would take place in due course.
The 14 emergency warning fires are:
Gulf Rd fire, south west of Tenterfield
Washpool state forest
Myall Creek
Liberation Trail north-west of Coffs Harbour
Kian Rd fire
Carrai East fire, west of Kempsey
Carrai Creek fire
Stockyard East fire
Reserves Rd
Thunderbolts Way
Rumba Dump fire, all north of Wingham and Taree
Hillville Rd, south of Taree
Greta fire, near Maitland
Gospers Mountain fire, towards Putty Rd.
Fitzsimmons said people needed to stay vigilant.
“We still have many hours yet of these strong dry winds to dominate and influence weather and fire behaviour. We’ve still got the southerly change expected to move through later tonight, across the fire grounds still burning up in northern New South Wales.”
There’s no indication of catastrophic conditions tomorrow, but the statewide fire ban will remain in place.
“We do need to be mindful that we’re expecting a return to hot and dry and windy conditions again towards the end of this week, certainly as we head to Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we can expect to see elevated fire dangers again. I don’t have anything in the signal to suggest catastrophic at this stage, but severe and above is likely.”
Some good news for Sydney residents: the NSW Rural Fire Service has just downgraded the South Turramurra fire from an emergency warning to advice level.
The ABC reporter Nick Dole is on the ground in the Sydney suburb where he says the blaze crept up quickly.
“Some of the neighbours told me here they saw some smoke and before they knew it the blaze was basically up against their backyard,” he said on ABC News.
A number of homes came under ember attack, he said.
“We just spoke to the neighbour and he says there are a number of spotfires that went through his yard. Fortunately some of his neighbours managed to help him and put out the spotting and the house has been saved.”
The federal government’s aviation authority has labelled the use of personal drones over fire grounds “sheer stupidity” that risks lives after an incident on Monday night, AAP reports.
Crews on Sydney’s north shore were responding to reports of smoke when they spotted a civilian drone hovering over the area.
Although no fire was found, the drone could have seriously hampered firefighting efforts, the Killara rural fire brigade said in a post on Facebook.
“If a fire was confirmed at the location we would not be able to request any aerial assistance due to the sighting of a drone near the fire,” the brigade posted in a statement on Facebook.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman Peter Gibson said flying a drone near a bushfire was illegal. The act could attract fines of up to $10,500 and prosecution may be sought where people are put at risk, Gibson said in a statement on Tuesday.
A watch and act alert has been issued for a fire at Cliff Drive, Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains.
More images are coming in of brightly coloured fire retardant being dropped on homes in South Turramurra, in Sydney’s north.
The NSW Rural Fire Service has just issued an emergency alert for the Carrai Creek fire, near Armidale. It is now too late to leave if you’re in the area west of Kempsey. Residents are advised to seek shelter as the fire approaches.
Vision of the South Turramurra fire on Sydney’s north shore clearly shows the bushfire is threatening properties.
Firefighters are battling to save homes using aerial firefighting units dropping retardant onto the flames. This is precisely the situation NSW firefighters were hoping to avoid. Fires are now hitting areas of dense population.
This fire is the subject of an emergency warning. Firefighters are advising people to seek shelter, saying it is now too late to leave.
It’s Christopher Knaus here again, taking over our coverage temporarily from Josh Taylor.
Bushfires are now spreading to Sydney’s north shore. ABC vision shows a blaze burning through grassland and bush at South Turramurra, on Sydney’s north shore.
The fire is in the area of Canoon Road and is spreading quickly. Nearby residents have been warned it is now too late to leave. They are advised to take shelter as the fire approaches.
Here’s what we know following the latest update from the Rural Fire Service commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons.
There are 78 fires burning across NSW with 47 of those not contained. There are 12 fires at emergency warning level and eight fires at watch and act level.
The 12 emergency alert fires were:
Gulf Road, Tenterfield
Washpool
Myall Creek, west of Woodburn
Liberation Trail, west of Coffs Harbour
Kian Road, south-west of Macksville
Reserves Road, north of Gloucester
Thunderbolts Way, north of Gloucester
Rumba Dump near Elands, Bobin and Marlee
Hillville Road, south of Taree
Greta near Cessnock
Wine Country Road in North Rothbury
Gosford Road, north of Sydney in the Hawkesbury area
Fitzsimmons said multiple homes were damaged at the North Rothbury fire. This fire has since been downgraded to watch and act.
He said firefighters had been able to keep on top of fires in the Sydney basin area but the strong southerly coming through in the next few hours was a cause for concern. This would occur around 7pm or 8pm in the Sydney region, and then north later in the evening.
There are some reported firefighter injuries, and one cardiac arrest in the Hunter, he said.
The Fire Near Me app has been downloaded 376,000 times in the past few days, he said.