Crews resume back-burning as Blue Mountains blaze rages
Crews resume back-burning as Blue Mountains blaze rages
25 November 2006
published by www.abc.net.au
Australia– The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) has restarted back-burning to try to contain a large bushfire in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.
The RFS says the operation from Medlow Bath to Point Pilcher will continue as long as it is viable.
Fire crews were unable to do much back-burning today because of the high fire danger.
The fire in the Blue Mountains National Park started almost two weeks ago and has burnt out about 14,000 hectares of bushland.
Twelve fires are burning around New South Wales, including those in the Upper Hunter, the Blue Mountains, and the Hawkesbury.
Victoria
Firefighters have contained a large bushfire in the Victoria’s south-west.
The blaze has burnt through 11,000 hectares of forest in the Dergholm area.
Firefighting was made more difficult when the blaze entered a peat swamp last night.
The State Department of Sustainability and Environment says the peat will smoulder for some time.
South Australia
Meanwhile, South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS) crews are battling a blaze in the state’s mid-north near the town of Saddleworth.
The fire is burning through farmland and woodland, about two kilometres from the Barrier Highway.
In another incident, a mother and child have fled a house fire at Port Lincoln.
The overnight blaze was in a Housing Trust home in Martindale Court.
A smoke alarm alerted the occupants of the house – a 30-year-old woman and her three-year-old child.
They escaped the blaze but had to be treated for the effects of smoke.
The fire has left a damage bill of about $130,000.
