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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2019/dec/21/australia-bushfires-catastrophic-conditions-declared-for-nsw-after-horror-day
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| Australia fires live: NSW town of Lithgow under threat as RFS warns of bushfire-generated thunderstorms – latest updates | Australia fires live: NSW town of Lithgow under threat as RFS warns of bushfire-generated thunderstorms – latest updates |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Emergency fire warnings have been issued for parts of NSW, including Greater Sydney, Victoria and South Australia, and the Australian weather forecast is for extreme temperatures | Emergency fire warnings have been issued for parts of NSW, including Greater Sydney, Victoria and South Australia, and the Australian weather forecast is for extreme temperatures |
| On road closures, the Great Western Highway is open. The Hume Highway is due to open in the next half an hour, and the Princes Highway is due to open soon. Victor Highway is due to open, too, but a couple of local roads, including Bells Line of Rd will remain close. People can check Traffic Live for the most current information. | |
| Meanwhile, the prime minister’s flight back from Hawaii is about to land, according to this. It’s been circling the airport because of the wind conditions in Sydney. | |
| Fitzsimmons says a number of roads remain closed, but RFS will work with police to get those roads open when it is safe to do so, so people can travel. | |
| He confirms one man is missing in the Dargan area. He said firefighters spoke to the man this morning, and he said he wants to stay there. His property has been enveloped in fire and he can’t be found now. | |
| There’s been multiple injuries including a firefighter hit by a vehicle on the Bells Line of Rd. He is okay, but may have a fracture. | |
| A number of other lacerations, injuries, and heat-related problems, but no serious injuries, Fitzsimmons says. | |
| We have an update from RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons.He says the southerly is having a big impact on the Gospers Mountain fire on towns along the Bells Line of Rd in Bilpin and the surrounding areas. | |
| He says there are reports from multiple fire grounds of properties being damaged and destroyed. He says the numbers could be in the dozens. There are still hours to go with this strong southerly. | |
| “It’s going to take a long time for that behaviour to settle down... We’ve got a long night ahead.” | |
| Just a quick update on the situation as on 7pm AEDT: | |
| There are four fires at emergency warning level in New South Wales: Currowan fire, Gospers Mountain fire, Green Wattle Creek and Upper Turon Rd, Palmers Oaky | |
| The Gospers Mountain fire is threatening Lithgow and Bilpin on the Bells Line of Rd in the Blue Mountains in particular, but there are many fronts | |
| A strong southerly change is dropping temperatures across NSW, but is making fire behave erratically | |
| Two emergency warnings in Victoria for fires in Tambo Crossing, Wattle Circle, Stirling, and Brookville | |
| A couple of fires in South Australia are at a watch and act level, but one man died in a car crash and one was critically injured. | |
| You can see in this 7News report how the strong winds are carrying the fire over Bells Line of Road in Bilpin. | You can see in this 7News report how the strong winds are carrying the fire over Bells Line of Road in Bilpin. |
| New South Wales RFS is reporting one person unaccounted for in the Dargan area near Lithgow. | New South Wales RFS is reporting one person unaccounted for in the Dargan area near Lithgow. |
| The strong southerly change Luke mentioned before is making its way across Sydney. But while it is leading to a quick drop in temperatures, it will cause the fires to behave erratically. | The strong southerly change Luke mentioned before is making its way across Sydney. But while it is leading to a quick drop in temperatures, it will cause the fires to behave erratically. |
| My colleague Jessica Hromas is out at the fires in Kurrajong. | My colleague Jessica Hromas is out at the fires in Kurrajong. |
| ABC is reporting at least five homes in Lithgow have been destroyed. We have not confirmed this yet. | ABC is reporting at least five homes in Lithgow have been destroyed. We have not confirmed this yet. |
| An emergency warning has been issued for Brookville in Victoria. | An emergency warning has been issued for Brookville in Victoria. |
| The bushfire at Barmouth Spur is travelling northerly towards Brookville and embers are falling in Brookville, threatening homes. | The bushfire at Barmouth Spur is travelling northerly towards Brookville and embers are falling in Brookville, threatening homes. |
| Josh Taylor here, taking over for Luke as we head into the evening. | Josh Taylor here, taking over for Luke as we head into the evening. |
| The bushfires are creating thunderstorms at the Currowan and Tianjara fires in the Shoalhaven, which is just awful. | The bushfires are creating thunderstorms at the Currowan and Tianjara fires in the Shoalhaven, which is just awful. |
| My colleague Graham Redfearn wrote about this phenomena yesterday. Graham explained that scientists are afraid the climate crisis will lead to a surge of these violent thunderstorms, known as PyroCBs. | My colleague Graham Redfearn wrote about this phenomena yesterday. Graham explained that scientists are afraid the climate crisis will lead to a surge of these violent thunderstorms, known as PyroCBs. |