A Christmas morning splatter of rain has failed to stem fears that two massive bushfires in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney could flare up and possibly join into one huge megafire when temperatures soar again over the weekend.
Some of the 2,000 firefighters battling blazes across New South Wales (NSW), Australia’s most populous state, managed to grab a bit of Christmas cheer yesterday, before returning to fight the fires in a race against time before more extreme heat.
The Bureau of Meteorology said temperatures in western Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, are expected to reach 45C on Sunday and Monday. New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian thanked volunteer firefighters at a Christmas breakfast saying they had done a tremendous job for weeks knowing that “it could get even harder in the days ahead.”
The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) said that firefighters will use the more favourable cooler conditions on Christmas and Boxing Day to strengthen containment lines ahead of the worsening weather. The RFS said two massive uncontrolled fires have grown north and south of the Great Western Highway which runs along a ridge from Sydney over the Blue Mountains.
The northern fire, called the Gospers Mountain fire, has burned half a million hectares and reached the mountain top town of Blackheath.
Blackheath local Kobe Bryant told broadcaster Channel 9 it was the biggest fire the Blue Mountains had ever seen. “I saw people’s faces - desperation, fear, anxiety - it was all on people’s faces. Growing up here, everyone is used to the threat of bushfires,” Bryant said.
“We’re used to sirens going off, but when it’s on your doorstep and it’s been going on for weeks you get tired. The mountains are like a ghost town at the moment.”
Several homes were lost yesterday as the fires raced up the 200-m high cliffs looking like a burning waterfall. Another massive fire south of the highway is heading north towards the main mountain town of Katoomba. So far eight people have lost their lives in New South Wales, including two volunteer firefighters.
The RFS said close to 1,000 homes have been burned. In South Australia on Christmas Day around 200 firefighters were battling fires east of the capital city Adelaide, which broke out as temperatures soared into the 40Cs last weekend.
Lightning strikes during a thunderstorm in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, yesterday.
