Bushfires rage in Australia

SEASONAL: ON TRACK TO BE THE WORST ON RECORD

Blazes fanned by gale-force winds, scorching temperatures and dry scrub.

Bushfires swept across eastern Australia yesterday singed Sydney’s suburbs, where firefighters used planes and helicopters to splatter a builtup neighbourhood with water and red retardant.

Twin blazes in the north shore suburb of Turramurra, 15km from the centre of Australia’s largest city, tore through a eucalypt forest park and sparked spot fires in homes, before being brought under control. As night fell, the authorities were bringing another blaze in a national park in the southern suburbs under control.

Throughout the day more than 300 bushfires burned up and down Australia’s east coast, fanned by gale-force winds, scorching temperatures and tinder-dry bushland.

In Turramurra, gardens smouldered, thick smoke hung in the air and cars, houses and roads were caked in red retardant.“It was the embers that floated up that went across and set off spot fires in front yards” resident Nigel Lush said.

Another resident,

Julia Gretton-Roberts, said the blaze spread shockingly quickly. “Next thing I know the fire was opposite our house and it was massive and the police grabbed our kids and took them away,” she said.

Firefighter Andrew Connon said “a number of homes were threatened”. From early morning thousands of firefighters spread out across New South Wales in anticipation of what they called “off the scale” fire risk and “catastrophic”

conditions. They were unable to prevent several bushfires from trapping residents.

New South Wales Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said the crisis was far from over. Firefighters will be “working on these fires for days and weeks given the enormity of the firegrounds”, he said. Experts have described the conditions as the worst on record, as spring temperatures climbed toward 40ºC and winds topped 80km per hour across a zone which has been plagued by persistent drought.

Caroline Watson arrived last night at a makeshift evacuation centre in the town of Taree. “The fires are rife. They are absolutely everywhere,” she said.

This bushfire season is in its infancy but is already on track to be one of Australia’s worst on record. – AFP

The police grabbed our kids and took them away