NSW bushfires: worst fears averted, but many blazes still out of control
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Version 0 of 1. There are 29 uncontained fires raging across New South Wales, with three considered “emergency” blazes, but fears of a disastrous loss of life and property have so far been averted despite conditions considered to be the worst of the state’s bushfire emergency. Australian fire authorities believed Wednesday would provide extremely dangerous fire conditions for the Blue Mountains region, west of Sydney, with low humidity and winds gusting up to 100km an hour. Residents were advised to leave the area prior to lunchtime, although there have only been sporadic evacuations. Successful containment of fires resulted in people allowed to return to their homes in the afternoon. Elsewhere, pupils at a school in Newcastle were moved following the flaring of a separate fire. In an unusual development, it has been confirmed that the Australian army triggered one of the major fires by a training exercise that involved explosives. One of the most severe fires is moving towards the town of Minmi, where two schools have been evacuated and residents told to take shelter. The two other emergency fires are at Lake Macquarie and Springwood, which has seen water-carrying helicopters strafe the flames. Shane Fitzsimmons, the NSW Rural Fire Service’s commissioner, said firefighters face challenging conditions, although the weather should be more favourable on Thursday. “We still have a few hours yet of the strong winds and warmer conditions,” he said. “The winds are expected to continue right through to nightfall and beyond. “We are expecting ... that there will be a swing around overnight to a more southerly influence. It will be a dry change though … and we’ll see a dry, cooler day tomorrow with fairly strong southwesterly winds, 40km/h gusting 60-80km/h.” “Whatever unfolds throughout the afternoon today, there will still be a lot of fire edge that firefighters have to deal with throughout tomorrow, the coming days and coming weeks.” Despite the conditions, there were no reports of property losses on Wednesday, although Fitzsimmons warned that the status of more than 60 separate fires could change rapidly. “We have seen today, and indeed building throughout this week, one of the most significant threats to the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury communities that's unparalleled,” he said, warning that residents shouldn’t be complacent after emerging relatively unscathed from the day. “Never before have we seen the extent of damage and destruction, and wide-scale fire activity at this time of the year,” he said. “It's indicative of the unseasonably dry, hot conditions that have been building now throughout winter and into spring. “We need to remind ourselves that we have a long way to go as we look down the coming months into summer and the bushfire danger period for NSW. “We've seen that threat to the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury communities averted. We've seen it averted because we've seen the best of skills on display, taking on board decisions and actions, weighing up all their options, and embarking on some very deliberate, some very measured, aggressive, and high-risk strategies.” The conditions resulted in one of the largest firefighting forces ever to be assembled in NSW, with more than 1,400 volunteers and professional staff deployed in the worst hit areas of the Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley and Sydney area. The total fire area has a perimeter of 1,600km, raising the possibility that controlled fires could continue flaring for weeks, or even months. The bushfire emergency started last Thursday, with fires concentrated in the Blue Mountains, Hunter Valley and greater Sydney area. Fires have so far destroyed 208 homes, with one man losing his life. Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |