Officials believe Australian “Mega-fire” could hit Sydney
Posted Oct 21, 2013 07:27:24 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CANBERRA, Australia –Firefighters battling some of the most destructive wildfires to ever strike Australia’s most populous state were focusing on a major blaze near the town of Lithgow.
Authorities warned that high temperatures and winds were likely to maintain heightened fire danger for days in New South Wales state. The area of New South Wales is under a state of emergency.
The fires have killed one man, destroyed 208 homes and damaged another 122 since Thursday, the Rural Fire Service said.
Firefighters have taken advantage of milder conditions in recent days to reduce the number of fires threatening towns around Sydney from more than 100 on Thursday night to 61 on Sunday, Rural Fire Service spokesman Matt Sun said.
Fifteen of these fires continued to burn out of control, including the blaze near Lithgow, west of Sydney, which was given the highest danger ranking by the fire service. Authorities expect that blaze will continue to burn for days and have advised several nearby communities to consider evacuating ahead of worsening weather conditions.
Fire fighters have been working to contain the blaze but have been stalled by unseasonably hot temperatures and erratic wind.Officials are concerned the seperate fires could merge and reach Sydney, which is more than 100 Kilometres away. Fire authorities say Sydney is already enveloped in smoke.
“It’s not as dire as it could be, but it’s certainly challenging work for firefighters and expected to get worse,” Sun said.
The Defense Department, meanwhile, said it was investigating whether there was any link between the Lithgow fire, which started Wednesday, and military exercises using explosives at a nearby training range on the same day.
“Defense is investigating if the two events are linked,” the department said in a statement on Saturday.
Sun said the cause of the fire was also under investigation by fire authorities and would be made public when determined.
Wildfires are common in Australia, though they don’t tend to pop up in large numbers until the summer. This year’s unusually dry winter and hotter than average spring have led to perfect fire conditions.
In February 2009, wildfires killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes in Victoria state.
There is a Hollywood connection to the the areas affected by the fires. One fire is burning in the Village of Mount Wilson, which was the backdrop for scenes in the recent film “The Great Gatsby,” starring Leonardo Dicaprio.
