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Cooler weather aids Australia firefighters as winds cause temperatures to drop
Source:AFP Published: 2013-1-9 21:38:01
Cooler weather Wednesday helped firefighters douse blazes across Australia which have destroyed a handful of homes and killed thousands of livestock, but some 30 still raged out of control.
After facing one of the highest-risk fire days in its history on Tuesday, shifting winds in the hard-hit state of New South Wales caused temperatures to drop significantly.
While the mercury topped 42 C in Syd
The ratings on many bushfires were downgraded with none now at the "catastrophic" level which signifies that fires will be uncontrollable, unpredictable and fast-moving and that evacuation is the only safe option.
But New South Wales Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons warned against complacency, with new fronts breaking out despite the colder weather and a total ban on lighting fires still in place.
"It is far from over when it comes to the threat to New South Wales," he told reporters in Bookham, a small village in Yass Shire west of Canberra where a fire has so far burnt out 16,000 hectares.
More than 2,000 firefighters worked through the day tackling some 140 blazes across New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, with 30 of those not yet contained.
But some were being brought under control, including a blaze at Deans Gap near Nowra south of Sydney, which was aerially waterbombed before fire crews cleaned up on the ground.
One home was earlier believed to have been lost in the state, at Jugiong, but Fitzsimmons said it now appeared to be an outbuilding or shed.
"It's a tribute to firefighters across the state that we haven't got any homes destroyed," he said.
"But we've seen significant agricultural losses already been tallied up, thousands of hectares of pasture and crops, and stock in the thousands lost," he added.
New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell said an estimated 10,000 sheep had perished in the Yass area alone.
AFP
After facing one of the highest-risk fire days in its history on Tuesday, shifting winds in the hard-hit state of New South Wales caused temperatures to drop significantly.
While the mercury topped 42 C in Syd
This handout picture taken late on Tuesday shows trees burning and smoke billowing from a fire along the Princes Highway at Deans Gap in the Shoalhaven area of New South Wales. Photo: AFP / NSW Rural Fire Service
ney on Tuesday, it only touched 25 degrees Wednesday. The Victoria state capital Melbourne was down to 20, although hotter weather was forecast to return by the weekend.The ratings on many bushfires were downgraded with none now at the "catastrophic" level which signifies that fires will be uncontrollable, unpredictable and fast-moving and that evacuation is the only safe option.
But New South Wales Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons warned against complacency, with new fronts breaking out despite the colder weather and a total ban on lighting fires still in place.
"It is far from over when it comes to the threat to New South Wales," he told reporters in Bookham, a small village in Yass Shire west of Canberra where a fire has so far burnt out 16,000 hectares.
More than 2,000 firefighters worked through the day tackling some 140 blazes across New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, with 30 of those not yet contained.
But some were being brought under control, including a blaze at Deans Gap near Nowra south of Sydney, which was aerially waterbombed before fire crews cleaned up on the ground.
One home was earlier believed to have been lost in the state, at Jugiong, but Fitzsimmons said it now appeared to be an outbuilding or shed.
"It's a tribute to firefighters across the state that we haven't got any homes destroyed," he said.
"But we've seen significant agricultural losses already been tallied up, thousands of hectares of pasture and crops, and stock in the thousands lost," he added.
New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell said an estimated 10,000 sheep had perished in the Yass area alone.
AFP
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