Australian wildfire danger causes fire ban in Sydney

SYDNEY – Sydney experienced its first total fire ban in almost three years on Tuesday and several schools along the New South Wales state coast to the south were closed because of a heightened wildfire danger, caused by unusually hot and dry conditions across southeast Australia.

Authorities have forecast the most destructive wildfire season during the approaching Southern Hemisphere summer in Australia’s populous southeast since the catastrophic Black Summer fires of 2019-20 that killed 33 people, destroyed more than 3,000 homes and razed 47 million acres.

A total fire ban has been declared for the Greater Sydney area and the coastal communities to the south.

Authorities said 61 wildfires were burning across Australia’s most populous state Tuesday, with 13 burning out of control.