More than 3,000 firefighters in Australia are
battling devastating bushfires raging across New
South Wales as weather conditions worsen.
"This will be as bad as it gets," Rural Fire Service chief
Shane Fitzsimmons said, adding there was "real
potential for more loss of homes and life".
High temperatures, low humidity and strong winds of
up to 100km/h (60mph) were forecast for Wednesday.
In total, 59 fires are burning across the state, 19 of
which are uncontained.
Hundreds more firefighters have been deployed to the
Blue Mountains, to the west of Sydney, to work
alongside the 1,000 already there, making it one of the
largest firefighting contingents ever assembled in the
state's history.
Residents have been urged to leave affected areas.
Hundreds of nursing home residents were evacuated
late on Tuesday and all schools in the area are closed.
"We are all in this together and we are going to get
through this day. If you haven't prepared yourself, for
those in the Blue Mountains, now is the time to leave,"
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said at a news conference
on Wednesday morning.
NSW
The fires have gutted cars and destroyed more than
200 properties
"We hope, of course, today's conditions and potential
events do not occur. We've planned for the worst but
we continue to hope for the best."
Up to 5mm (0.2in) of rain fell across fire grounds on
Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.
"Whilst that is some welcome relief in terms of
moderating the current fire behaviour, it has
compromised considerably the ability to continue with
the back-burning operations that were planned
throughout the evening," Mr Fitzsimmons said.
Back-burning is controlled burning of key areas aimed
at depriving a fire of fuel and prevent it travelling in a
certain direction.
Suspected arsonists
In the Blue Mountains, there are three "watch-and-act"
alerts in place for the State Mine fire near Lithgow, the
Mount Victoria fire and the Hall Road fire near
Wollondilly. There is an "emergency" alert in place for
the Linksview Road fire near Springwood, according to
the NSW Rural Fire Service .
On Tuesday fire crews deliberately joined two large
fires - State Mine and Mount Victoria - in order to
prevent them linking up with a third to create a massive
blaze.
The fires have been burning in the Blue Mountains since
Thursday, with a state of emergency declared at the
weekend.
"There's not been fires quite like this before - so big, so
intense and so fast. We're talking about a fire that at
some points is five storeys high," Mayor of the Blue
Mountains Mark Greenhill told the BBC on Tuesday.
"[Wednesday] is going to be a horror day in terms of
the weather and could be a horror day in terms of the
fire," he said.
Police and Emergency Services Minister Michael
Gallacher said residents in the Blue Mountains needed
to have a plan.
"Pack the car now, head down the mountain, come
down and enjoy time in the metropolitan area and
allow the firefighters the freedom to move through the
community to protect your homes," he said.
Sam Buckingham-Jones, who is from Springwood, said
he was ready to evacuate if necessary.
"There has been a very strong wind today, about
100km/hr," he told the BBC.
"There is a bushfire only 5km (three miles) away from
where we live. Everyone here is talking about what
would they take with them if they have to evacuate - we
packed a lot of stuff in the cars and we are ready to
leave if we have to."
Further north, two "emergency" alerts has been issued
for fires on the outskirts of Newcastle, with residents in
Minmi told to leave and a major highway closed.
So far the fires in New South Wales have destroyed
more than 200 homes. One man has died, possibly of a
heart attack while defending his home.
New Prime Minister Tony Abbott, meanwhile, has hit
back at comments by UN climate chief Christiana
Figueres linking bushfires to global warming and
criticising his decision to repeal a tax on carbon
emissions introduced by the previous government.
"The official in question is talking through her hat," Mr
Abbott told local media.
"Climate change is real, as I've often said, and we
should take strong action against it. But these fires are
certainly not a function of climate change - they're just
a function of life in Australia."
Mr Abbott, who took office in September, has drafted
legislation to repeal the carbon tax, which imposed a
levy on the country's 300 biggest polluters.
The new prime minister, who says the tax cost jobs and
forced energy prices up, wants to introduce a Direct
Action plan under which farmers and industry will be
paid to act to reduce emissions.
battling devastating bushfires raging across New
South Wales as weather conditions worsen.
"This will be as bad as it gets," Rural Fire Service chief
Shane Fitzsimmons said, adding there was "real
potential for more loss of homes and life".
High temperatures, low humidity and strong winds of
up to 100km/h (60mph) were forecast for Wednesday.
In total, 59 fires are burning across the state, 19 of
which are uncontained.
Hundreds more firefighters have been deployed to the
Blue Mountains, to the west of Sydney, to work
alongside the 1,000 already there, making it one of the
largest firefighting contingents ever assembled in the
state's history.
Residents have been urged to leave affected areas.
Hundreds of nursing home residents were evacuated
late on Tuesday and all schools in the area are closed.
"We are all in this together and we are going to get
through this day. If you haven't prepared yourself, for
those in the Blue Mountains, now is the time to leave,"
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell said at a news conference
on Wednesday morning.
NSW
The fires have gutted cars and destroyed more than
200 properties
"We hope, of course, today's conditions and potential
events do not occur. We've planned for the worst but
we continue to hope for the best."
Up to 5mm (0.2in) of rain fell across fire grounds on
Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.
"Whilst that is some welcome relief in terms of
moderating the current fire behaviour, it has
compromised considerably the ability to continue with
the back-burning operations that were planned
throughout the evening," Mr Fitzsimmons said.
Back-burning is controlled burning of key areas aimed
at depriving a fire of fuel and prevent it travelling in a
certain direction.
Suspected arsonists
In the Blue Mountains, there are three "watch-and-act"
alerts in place for the State Mine fire near Lithgow, the
Mount Victoria fire and the Hall Road fire near
Wollondilly. There is an "emergency" alert in place for
the Linksview Road fire near Springwood, according to
the NSW Rural Fire Service .
On Tuesday fire crews deliberately joined two large
fires - State Mine and Mount Victoria - in order to
prevent them linking up with a third to create a massive
blaze.
The fires have been burning in the Blue Mountains since
Thursday, with a state of emergency declared at the
weekend.
"There's not been fires quite like this before - so big, so
intense and so fast. We're talking about a fire that at
some points is five storeys high," Mayor of the Blue
Mountains Mark Greenhill told the BBC on Tuesday.
"[Wednesday] is going to be a horror day in terms of
the weather and could be a horror day in terms of the
fire," he said.
Police and Emergency Services Minister Michael
Gallacher said residents in the Blue Mountains needed
to have a plan.
"Pack the car now, head down the mountain, come
down and enjoy time in the metropolitan area and
allow the firefighters the freedom to move through the
community to protect your homes," he said.
Sam Buckingham-Jones, who is from Springwood, said
he was ready to evacuate if necessary.
"There has been a very strong wind today, about
100km/hr," he told the BBC.
"There is a bushfire only 5km (three miles) away from
where we live. Everyone here is talking about what
would they take with them if they have to evacuate - we
packed a lot of stuff in the cars and we are ready to
leave if we have to."
Further north, two "emergency" alerts has been issued
for fires on the outskirts of Newcastle, with residents in
Minmi told to leave and a major highway closed.
So far the fires in New South Wales have destroyed
more than 200 homes. One man has died, possibly of a
heart attack while defending his home.
New Prime Minister Tony Abbott, meanwhile, has hit
back at comments by UN climate chief Christiana
Figueres linking bushfires to global warming and
criticising his decision to repeal a tax on carbon
emissions introduced by the previous government.
"The official in question is talking through her hat," Mr
Abbott told local media.
"Climate change is real, as I've often said, and we
should take strong action against it. But these fires are
certainly not a function of climate change - they're just
a function of life in Australia."
Mr Abbott, who took office in September, has drafted
legislation to repeal the carbon tax, which imposed a
levy on the country's 300 biggest polluters.
The new prime minister, who says the tax cost jobs and
forced energy prices up, wants to introduce a Direct
Action plan under which farmers and industry will be
paid to act to reduce emissions.
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