Fires in Australia
Firesin Australia
03 January 2006
Information obtained from the Sentinel Fire mapping system provides the following fire location data in Australia for 01-03 January 2006 (Source: http://www.sentinel.csiro.au/).
Sentinel Fire Mapping is a mapping tool designed to provide timely fire location data to emergency service managers across Australia. The mapping system allows users to identify fire locations that pose a potential risk to communities and property.
See Recent Media Highlights for more information.
Firefighters placed on interstate alert
03 January 2006
Source: http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au
Brian Williams and AAP
QUEENSLAND firefighters on annual leave have been asked to voluntarily return to duty should NSW bushfires spiral out of control.
It is expected 50 to 100 firefighters will be sent south if needed.
Firefighters yesterday appealed to Queenslanders to take every possible precaution in preventing blazes after sustained hot weather saw about 30 fires start in NSW and Victoria.
Queensland Fire and Rescue Service acting operations co-ordinator Peter Theodore said the service wanted residents to call fire brigades at the earliest sign of smoke in an effort to contain blazes.
One fire broke out between Eumundi and Kenilworth on the Sunshine Coast but was brought under control with back-burning and the help of 10 fire units.
Firefighters in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia were last night clinging to hope they might have controlled bushfires despite virtually everything working against them.
As some NSW fire victims were allowed to return to their properties, authorities said they believed the worst of the blazes had been contained.
Record high temperatures and hot winds on Sunday produced a spate of fires across the state that destroyed property, including eight houses and tens of thousands of cattle.
Among the worst-hit areas were the NSW Central Coast and the Junee area in the state’s southwest where more than 34,000ha have been burnt out.
The NSW Rural Fire Service said bushfire emergencies had been declared in about 20 areas, most to the north of Sydney and around the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie regions.
Meanwhile, in Victoria, control lines were holding around a bushfire that destroyed seven homes and more than 9000ha near Stawell in the state’s west.
The Country Fire Authority said firefighters remained on high alert in case of a flare-up but the weather bureau is not predicting severe fire conditions for the rest of the week.
And in Western Australia firefighters were monitoring a blaze north of Perth.
No property was damaged or threatened but some roads remain closed as firefighters monitor the fire, which was contained by the early morning.
Australian Fire Threat Rises
03 January 2006
Source: http://www9.sbs.com.au
Firefighters in the Australian state of New South Walesare conducting an extensive backburning operation in a race against hot and dryweather expected this weekend.
As many as 300 firefighters worked well into Monday night attempting to set upcontainment lines as conditions eased with light rain and a cool change.
But theres little reprieve for the Rural Fire Service (RFS) with almost 30fires still burning across the state.
The most serious are in the Hawkesbury, the central coast and near the town ofJunee in the state’s central south.
Fire chiefs want to get the blazes under control as weather forecasters havewarned dangerous conditions will return.
“It’s going to take us about four days to get round all these fires and mopthem up,” NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Phil Koperberg said.
Premier visits family
NSW Premier Morris Iemma and Commissioner Koperberg visited one family who losttheir Phegans Bay home on Sunday to the bushfire.
Premier Iemma told the family your courage is an inspiration, while thefamily thanked the firefighters who risked their lives while taking on the blaze.
Mr Iemma also paid a visit to the Rural Fire Control Centre at near Kariong.
In a briefing he was told 652 houses had been directly threatened duringSunday’s firestorm with 800 firefighters deployed at its height.
Arsonists tracked
In the past two days bushfires have raged in the states central coast andsouth-west destroying at least eight homes and devastating farmland andlivestock.
A St Johns Ambulance volunteer, Mike Rozier, 64, died of a suspected heartattack on Sunday, while helping people evacuate on the central coast.
A 21-year-old firefighter also remains in a critical condition in a Sydneyhospital, suffering third degree burns to 60 percent of his body.
The young firefighter was trapped in his tractor at the side of a road when fireripped through the township of Junee.
A total fire ban has been declared in the upper central western plains and lowercentral western plains, and a ban also remains in force for the Greater Hunterarea.
Premier Iemma has confirmed that police are tracking 30 known and suspectedarsonists.
Mr Iemma said the arsonists were under surveillance by a network of police,firefighters, family and friends.
He said anyone convicted of arson could face a 14 year jail term.
Mr Iemma said the cause of all the fires was still be investigated.
Assistance pledged
Acting Prime Minister Mark Vaile has
expressed his sympathy to the victims of bushfires raging across the countrysince the weekend.
Speaking on ABC radio he said every support the federal government can offerwill be made available.
Bushfire battle continues as threat eases
02 January 2006
Source: http://www.abc.net.au
The Rural Fire Service (RFS) says it will take several days to contain the fires that have destroyed homes and stock in New South Wales.
While lower temperatures have brought relief, rain and a change in wind direction have made it hard for the crews to contain the fires.
RFS Commissioner Phil Koperburg says there are three fires on the central coast, while a blaze in the Riverina town of Junee is moving north and is now spread over 35,000 hectares.
Mixed blessing: lower temperatures have brought relief
but rain has made it hard for crews to contain fires (Reuters)
“It’s going to take us about four days to get around all these fires and mop them up,” he said.
“We don’t however, expect a return to bad fire weather until the weekend.”
He says the blazes have destroyed eight homes but are no longer considered to be a threat to property.
A St John’s Ambulance volunteer has had a fatal heart attack, while a firefighter who suffered burns is in a serious condition in a Sydney hospital.
Mike Rozier, who had been a volunteer with St John’s for five years, was taken to hospital from a Woy Woy evacuation centre last night.
St John’s Ambulance commissioner Warren Glenny says the 64-year-old may have suffered a heart attack.
New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma says financial help will be available for people who have lost their homes.
