Australian blazes trap thousands of holidaymakers
Third firefighter killed but prime minister calls for Sydney fireworks to go on as symbol of ‘optimism’
A THIRD firefighter has died battling blazes in New South Wales, while in Victoria thousands of visitors who ignored warnings to leave a holiday region are now trapped by bush fires.
The fireman died and two others suffered burns when a truck rolled over as they fought a blaze in Green Valley, near the Victoria border, yesterday. It is believed it was tipped over by strong winds.
On Sunday, officials urged anyone in East Gippsland, a region half the size of Belgium, to evacuate. As well as residents, around 30,000 tourists at Lakes Entrance, a popular holiday destination, were affected.
Andrew Crisp, Victoria’s emergency management commissioner, said early yesterday that the window of opportunity to flee Lakes Entrance would close quickly. “If you’re not out by 9am there is every chance you won’t be able to leave,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Darren Martin, the caretaker of Lakes Entrance Recreation and Camping Reserve, told local radio station 3AW that many seemed to have ignored the warning. “All of the people in our caravan park have been coming back and forth for years and seem to think they would bunker down and just hope for the best,” he said.
Maximum temperatures across East Gippsland yesterday ranged from 37.7C (100F) to 48.9C (120F). It is not known how many people remain in the area, but fires in the vicinity have destroyed tens of thousands of acres and with high temperatures and strong winds, the danger remains high.
Elsewhere in Victoria, evacuation warnings were issued in eight shires. Properties on the northern outskirts of Melbourne were damaged as firefighters fought to keep the blaze out of the city. Residents in four suburbs were told to leave their homes. There were 22 bushfires at “emergency” level burning simultaneously across three Australian states yesterday, 14 in Victoria, four in New South Wales and four in Tasmania.
New Year’s Eve fireworks in Canberra have been cancelled, and pressure was yesterday building for Sydney’s iconic celebrations to be similarly scrapped. John Barilaro, the deputy premier of New South Wales, said the spectacle should be called off. “The risk is too high and we must respect our exhausted volunteers,” he wrote on social media.
However, Scott Morrison, the prime minister, said the show would go ahead as a symbol of Australian “optimism”.
The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) has issued a total fire ban for the state, with fire danger ratings ranging from High to Extreme. The RFS also issued a dire warning about blazes surrounding Sydney, predicting significant spread
‘If you’re not out by 9am there is every chance you won’t be able to leave’
and potential “ember attacks” – which can cause spot fires.
In South Australia, wild fires, dust storms and lightning caused mayhem, with loss of power to at least 10,000 houses. The state has lost two people and about 100 homes to fires in recent days. In Tasmania, temperatures in Hobart broke a 120-year record for December, hitting 40.8C (105F).
Meanwhile, anger at the federal government’s response to the country’s bush fire crisis has encouraged people to open their wallets, with a mural mocking Mr Morrison for his Hawaiian holiday raising AU$50,000 (£26,600) for volunteer firefighters, Scott Marsh, the artist, said.
Mr Marsh said he had sold prints and T-shirts of the mural, which was painted over by authorities just days after it appeared in Sydney.