Australian authorities fear worsening wildfires
The government in Sydney is bracing for an increase in devastating wildfires as forecasters predict higher temperatures and strengthening winds
Firefighters battling some of the most destructive wildfires to ever strike Australia’s most populous state were bracing on Saturday for worsening conditions, with higher temperatures and winds expected to intensify the danger in the coming days.
In the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, one of the worst-hit regions in fire-ravaged state of New South Wales, 193 homes have been destroyed and another 109 damaged by the fire storm that peaked on Thursday, the Rural Fire Service said.
“We could see some very, very dire conditions ranging right across the Blue Mountains.”
The damage toll announced on Saturday was more than double the count from the previous day and was expected to 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 too, but numbers were not yet available.
With 68 fires still burning – 22 of them out of control – and worsening weather conditions forecast through until Thursday, authorities were expecting the worst.
“We could see some very, very dire conditions ranging right across the Blue Mountains,” Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told Nine Network television.
“The reason we are particularly concerned is that we went into last Thursday with not too much fire. We’re going into some bad weather now with lots of fire and literally 500km of fire edge that needs to be dealt with. That will present serious issues should we see hot, dry, windy weather, which is likely toward the middle of the week,” he said.
