Sydney now threatened by ring of wild bush fires
Fear grows that major blazes will combine into one
SYDNEY Australian firemen were preparing for some of the worst conditions in decades Sunday night as several major bushfires threatened to merge into a single dangerous blaze that could reach outlying districts of Sydney.
The government declared a state of emergency in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, as forecasters warned of soaring temperatures and powerful winds for days to come.
The unseasonably early start to the Australian bushfire season has already killed one person and left hundreds homeless.
Firemen were fighting along a 300-kilometre front while authorities warned of unparalleled risk and exposure for the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury communities, to the west and north of Sydney.
Fire services had taken advantage of cooler weather to reduce the number of active fires to about 60 from more than 100 last Thursday, but Shane Fitzsimmons, the rural fire service commissioner, warned of deteriorating conditions, and a threat not seen in four decades.
A spokesman said there was great concern at the risk if the fires now became united. “We can understand the magnitude of that as it would then creep into the bottom end of Sydney,” he said.
The city’s suburban outskirts are just across the Nepean River from the foot of the mountains and embers have already briefly jumped its banks on one occasion since the fires began.
Police said compulsory evacuation orders would be enforced in some areas. “We hope we have buildings standing, but if we don’t have buildings standing we don’t want bodies in them,” said Alan Clarke, the state police commissioner.
Alison Rooke, 38, a Blue Mountains resident, described how she made her way to the fire-ravaged town of Winmalee to gather supplies for her family but was turned back when “the skies went dark and ash started to rain down.”
While her family home is set back from the fire front, embers blow over sporadically, threatening to ignite yet more of a volatile, tinder-dry bush landscape that hasn’t seen rain in months.
“There is just anxiety everywhere, incredible nervousness. When you grow up in the mountains you’re very aware that there’s fire (danger), and you need to prepare, and everyone does — but it all came so fast, and all (people) could do was run for their lives. It’s just so unpredictable.”