Thursday brought cooler temperatures after
Wednesday's dangerous conditions
A plane fighting bushfires in the Australian state
of New South Wales has crashed, killing its pilot,
as the military faced criticism for starting one of
the major fires.
The water-bombing plane crashed near Ulladulla, south
of Sydney.
Meanwhile the military said it was co-operating with a
fire services probe that found an exercise using live
ordnance started the State Mine fire.
NSW has been battling bushfires for days, amid high
temperatures.
Officials have yet to release the identity of the pilot,
who was the only person aboard the aircraft. His family
has been informed of his death.
'No intention'
Thousands of firefighters have been mobilised to tackle
the fires, and on Wednesday the state came through
what officials had said would be a very dangerous day
because of weather conditions.
Thursday brought cooler weather but more than 60
fires are still burning. Worst-hit has been the Blue
Mountains area, to the west of Sydney, where many
homes have been destroyed and some residents
evacuated.
The State Mine blaze, near the Blue Mountains town of
Lithgow, was seen as a serious cause for concern earlier
in the week.
NSW Rural Fire Service chief Shane Fitzsimmons said an
investigation had found it was ignited by live ordnance.
"It wasn't deliberate, it was a side-effect of a routine
activity ... and clearly there was no intention to see fire
start up and run as a result of that activity," he said.
Acting Defence Minister George Brandis said the
military "take this issue very seriously and continue to
fully co-operate with the NSW authorities, including the
NSW Police, who are investigating the fire".
Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill said the military
should have known better.
"I would have hoped on a day like that which was a dry
day, a hot day, with the winds, the Australian military
would have known it wasn't a good time to be igniting.
So far the NSW fires have destroyed more than 200
homes and left one man dead.
How eucalyptus trees help bushfires to
spread
Ninety
Australia's forests
are eucalyptus trees
that are adapted to
bushfires.
Eucalyptus leaves
are rich in
flammable oils and
many varieties also
have trunks that
have evolved to
burn quickly and
later sprout new
growth from buds
in the bark (right)
The fastest-moving and most dangerous part of
the fire is known as the "head". Areas ahead of the
fire are warmed as it approaches and flying
embers blown by the wind spark "spotfires",
which cause it to leap further ahead
Fires travel faster uphill than downhill, as the heat
and smoke rise, heating areas higher up the hill.
Wind currents also tend to blow uphill, pushing
the flames further. Burning embers may roll
downhill, starting new fires
Meanwhile, former US Vice-President Al Gore has
entered the debate over climate change, calling on
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott not to repeal the
carbon tax.
On Wednesday, Mr Abbott accused the UN climate
chief, Christiana Figueres, of "talking through her hat"
when she described bushfires as "absolutely" linked to
climate change.
Mr Gore told ABC News: "Bushfires can occur naturally,
and do, but the science shows clearly that when the
temperature goes up, and when the vegetation and soils
dry out, then wildfires become more pervasive and
more dangerous.
"The meaningful way to solve this crisis is to put a price
on carbon, and in Australia's case to keep a price on
carbon," he said.
Mr Abbott is working to repeal a tax on carbon
introduced by the Labor government that charges
Australia's top 300 polluters for their emissions.
He says the tax cost jobs and drove energy prices up,
and intends to replace it with a subsidies scheme.
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