Firefighters in
Australia are continuing to fight some of the worst bushfires to hit the
country in a decade, preparing for worsening conditions.
In the Blue
Mountains west of Sydney, one of the worst-hit regions in fire-ravaged New
South Wales state, 300 homes have been either destroyed or damaged by the fire
storm that peaked on Thursday, the Rural Fire Service announced on Saturday.
The damage toll is
more than double the last count announced on Friday and will continue to rise
as assessment teams and police move deeper into the destruction zone in search
of survivors and victims.
Homes have been
reported destroyed in other regions, but numbers are not yet available.
A 63-year-old man
died of a heart attack on Thursday while protecting his home from fire at Lake
Munmorah, north of Sydney. At least five others – including three fire
fighters – have been treated in hospitals for burns and smoke inhalation,
officials said.
Arson
investigations
Arson investigators
are examining the origins of several of more than 100 fires that have
threatened towns surrounding Sydney in recent days.
The Australian
military also said it was investigating whether a major blaze was linked
to an explosives training exercise.
The bushfires have
been extraordinarily intense and extraordinarily early in an annual fire season
which peaks during the forthcoming southern hemisphere summer which begins in
December.
This year’s
unusually dry winter and hotter-than-average spring have led to perfect fire
conditions.
About 1,500 fire
fighters have been back burning to contain blazes since winds and temperatures
became milder on Friday. Several roads in fire-affected areas north, west and
south of Sydney have been closed.
On Saturday, 83
fires were burning across the state including 19 uncontained blazes.
Rural Fire Service
Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers described Saturday’s conditions as a
“pause” before higher temperatures and increasing winds were forecast
for Sunday.
“It’s just
calmed down a little bit and obviously we’re bracing ourselves for these
worsening conditions,” Rogers told Breeze Magazine.
“What we have
is a time for the crews to anticipate the weather coming ahead and try and get
as much containment as possible and prevent that fire threatening major
population centres when we get worse weather,” he said.
In February 2009, bushfires
killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes in Victoria state.
