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NSW and Qld fires updates: water-bombing helicopter crash-lands at bushfires west of Brisbane – live NSW and Qld fires updates: water-bombing helicopter crash-lands at bushfires west of Brisbane – live
(32 minutes later)
Catastrophic fire conditions in New South Wales ease, but dozens of Australian bushfires remain burning. In Queensland, 80 fires are burning, with strong winds and temperatures in mid-30s forecast to make for hazardous conditions on Australia’s east coastCatastrophic fire conditions in New South Wales ease, but dozens of Australian bushfires remain burning. In Queensland, 80 fires are burning, with strong winds and temperatures in mid-30s forecast to make for hazardous conditions on Australia’s east coast
From AAP:
A bushfire has reportedly destroyed two homes and damaged two others in Geraldton in Western Australia’s Mid West region.
Mayor Shane Van Styn said he had been told about property loss at Utakarra but it was yet to be officially confirmed.
Mr Van Styn said he had not heard of any injuries.
Strong, hot winds would drive a separate blaze towards coastal Drummond Cove, north of Geraldton, if it was not contained, Mr Van Styn said.
An emergency warning remains in place for Drummond Cove, neighbouring Glenfield and Utakarra.
“These fires commenced in vacant properties next to residential areas and are very fast moving,” Mr Van Styn told AAP.
He said students who usually took buses home to those areas were being kept at school for the time being.
Roads have been closed and motorists are asked to avoid the areas.
Kinkuna Waters: Leave now
Some more from the Elands, NSW resident Susie Russell, who has highlighted a problem some residents of other rural areas have also spoken to Guardian Australia about this week.
She says it has been very difficult to get timely information in and out of Elands about the fire situation.
A phone tower was recently installed to bring communication to the town, but it’s been down since Friday. Residents who remain in Elands have been going to a single spot where they can get phone reception from another point on the coast.
Another resident, Jarra Hicks, told Guardian Australia people had doorknocked on Monday to alert friends and family of the need to evacuate.
Residents have been trying to highlight the need for a generator.
“They could bring in a generator to power the tower instead of us all having to drive around like crazy or ring triple zero to find out what’s going on,” Russell says.
“That would be one thing they could do to make this community safer. That would be one practical thing they could do tomorrow.”
The emergency warning for the southern part of the suburb of Utakarra in Geraldton, Western Australia remains in place.
An update from Elands in northern NSW from resident Susie Russell.
Most of the village was evacuated on Monday night, but Russell is among a small group of residents who chose to stay and defend property. The town has a small volunteer fire crew that has been battling multiple fires, including the Rumba Dump fire.
She says the fires are being controlled, but the threat remains.
“We dodged a bullet last night,” Russell says.
“The southerly wasn’t as strong as we feared. Our magnificent fire captain got permission to do a backburn, which worked really well.
“The 15 houses that would have otherwise gone up in smoke are still standing strong.”
Elands is in steep country and fires are making their way along the tops of the ridges, Russell says.
It’s usually very green as well, but at a time of year when they would normally have had more than a metre of rainfall, they’ve had less than 500mm.
“The country is just really, really in trouble. Everything around here looks like it’s going to burn and there’s no rain in sight,” Russell says.
Some more on the Pechey fire from the QFES Facebook page:
You can find the full post here.
Another alert for the Pechey fire in Queensland. Leave immediately.Another alert for the Pechey fire in Queensland. Leave immediately.
Conditions have eased at the Hillville Road fire in NSW. The fire has been downgraded to watch and act.Conditions have eased at the Hillville Road fire in NSW. The fire has been downgraded to watch and act.
There have been a rising number of “leave now” or “leave immediately” warnings in Queensland in the last hour:There have been a rising number of “leave now” or “leave immediately” warnings in Queensland in the last hour:
KilkivanKilkivan
Noosa North ShoreNoosa North Shore
Buxton (part of Woodgate/Walkers Point fire)Buxton (part of Woodgate/Walkers Point fire)
Pechey (near Hampton)Pechey (near Hampton)
Woodgate/Walkers Point RoadWoodgate/Walkers Point Road
Kinkuna Waters (part of Woodgate/Walkers Point Road fire)Kinkuna Waters (part of Woodgate/Walkers Point Road fire)
Woodgate/Walkers Point Road (south of Bundaberg) grass fireWoodgate/Walkers Point Road (south of Bundaberg) grass fire
You can find the full details of each warning here on the QFES Facebook page.You can find the full details of each warning here on the QFES Facebook page.
Queensland firefighters say the Kilkivan fire could reach Thornside Road and Upper Thornside Road soon.Queensland firefighters say the Kilkivan fire could reach Thornside Road and Upper Thornside Road soon.
A bit more detail is filtering through about the helicopter incident on the Darling Downs, near one of the state’s most concerning bushfires.
Most concerning is that the Pechey fire appeared to breach containment lines after the incident. It is not yet clear whether other aerial operations were suspended temporarily as a result.
About 2pm the aircraft – a private water-bombing helicopter run by McDermott Aviation – got into trouble while attempting to land near Grapetree Road.
It came down hard – though there remains some conjecture about whether it constituted a “crash landing” or just a rough landing. The pilot, in his 70s, has been taken to hospital in a stable condition, but will likely be OK. Queensland Ambulance earlier described his injuries as minor.
Some aerial images have come in via an ABC journalist of the helicopter. Certainly looks nasty.
And here is a photo from South Turramurra yesterday:
An update on the South Turramurra fire:
The Ku-ring-gai mayor, Jennifer Anderson, has slammed potential arson in South Turramurra as an “almost unimaginable” act during Tuesday’s catastrophic fire conditions on Sydney’s upper north shore.
Police are investigating whether multiple fires in bushland around South Turramurra were deliberately lit on Tuesday afternoon. One fire, in dense bush off Canoon Road, came within metres of homes.
It was stopped by an intense firefighting effort involving water bombing with a pink-coloured fire retardant. Anderson told the Guardian the cause of the fire was still being investigated by police.
“As mayor it seems almost unimaginable that someone would put our community in such danger,” she said.
“With the total fire ban still in place, we ask residents to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity near bushland to police.”
NSW police said they had no update on the status of their investigation. Many homes in Turramurra were still coated with a pink layer of fire retardant on Wednesday.
The chemicals are essentially fertilisers (ammonium and diammonium sulphate and ammonium phosphate) mixed with a red-coloured pigment, made from iron oxide.
Firefighters use the pigment so they can see where retardant has already been deployed.
The council is cleaning the chemicals off at no extra charge. The clean-up is expected to take several days.
Some new images showing spot fires breaking out at Hillville today.
The RFS has just issued a new emergency warning for the fire.
The NSW Rural Fire Service has issued the first emergency warning for NSW for Wednesday for a fire at Hillville Road, Hillville on the mid-north coast.
The New South Wales parliament had been set this week to debate legislation that would try to stop planning authorities from blocking coal and gas developments because of their scope 3 emissions.
Environment groups had called for the debate to be postponed given the bushfire disaster in NSW and a protest was held outside the parliament in Sydney on Tuesday.
It now looks like that legislation will be debated in the lower house next week. The one-week delay means it is unlikely to be debated by the legislative council until next year.
A short inquiry will be held into the bill over the summer break.
Back in NSW:
Brad Edge is a resident of Congarinni on the mid-north coast of NSW. We spoke to him on Monday when fires were threatening his property. He and his family had been evacuated from several different locations.
On Wednesday he said the situation has not improved and his house remained under threat. Containment lines had been put in on his property.
“The fire has broken the containment lines,” he said.
“So now the RFS is backburning. They’re going to burn about 40 acres of bush.
“You can see it from the house now.
“The closer it gets and the hotter it burns, it’s harder to control. But I hope it’s controlled.”
Edge has spent the day helping a friend prepare his property, which is now also threatened.
“As they say, this won’t be over for quite a while,” he said.
The mayor of Toowoomba, Paul Antonio, was speaking live to ABC News 24 when word came through a water-bombing helicopter had crashed in the area.
The Queensland Ambulance Service is calling it a “heavy landing” and says the pilot has minor injuries.
Residents of Pechey and Hampton, to the north of Toowoomba, have been told to leave their properties with the fire front approaching.
Antonio said he wasn’t aware, but was thankful to the fixed-wing and helicopter pilots who were helping to fight the fires.
“Our thoughts are with all concerned and we are looking forward to it working out the right way,” he said.
“There was three aeroplanes and a number of helicopters involved [because] parts of this fire are in inaccessible country.
“The fire is well resourced.”
An update on the pilot involved in the helicopter crash. The ABC is reporting the pilot has survived.
The Queensland Ambulance Service is calling it a heavy landing, rather than a crash, and says the pilot is being treated for minor injuries.
Some breaking news:
The ABC is reporting a water-bombing helicopter has crashed while fighting a fire at Pechey on the Darling Downs, west of Brisbane.
The Queensland Ambulance Service and the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services are responding, a QFES spokesman said.
“QFES is seeking further clarification regarding the condition of the pilot,” he said.