New South Wales firefighters are battling catastrophic fire conditions across large parts of the state, including 26 uncontained blazes.
Unconfirmed reports said one home may have been destroyed in a large blaze burning in the state’s central west, near Dunedoo, 430km north west of Sydney.
The fire, which exceeded 2000 hectares and jumped containment lines, prompted the NSW rural fire service to upgrade its advice to an emergency warning just before noon. Residents of the villages of Uarbry and Turill were urged to leave their homes if their path was clear. Emergency alert telephone messages were also sent to people in the area.
The fire was burning in catastrophic conditions and would spread quickly, the RFS emergency warning read: “In these conditions, the fire will spread quickly. It will be difficult for firefighters to contain the fire.”
Large areas of NSW have experienced unprecedented fire danger conditions over the weekend as a trough produced hot, dry and gusty winds.
“This will produce widespread severe to catastrophic fire conditions in central and northern districts,” the Bureau of Meteorology said.
The bureau issued a catastrophic fire danger warning for the Greater Hunter, Central Ranges and North Western regions and extreme or severe danger warnings for many surrounding areas.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Gabrielle Woodhouse said conditions may worsen as relative humidity dropped.
“We’ve got the strong, gusty northwesterly winds and they’re already drying things out,” she said.
“It’s just getting hotter and hotter and getting windier.”
A statewide fire ban is in place for the entire weekend, with very high temperatures predicted in several regional areas. Scone in the upper Hunter region, north of Sydney, hit 44C at midday and Walgett, in northern NSW, reached 46.4C at 2pm. Coonamble in the state’s central west registered 45.5C at 2.30pm.
In addition to the large blaze near Dunedoo, a fire was also burning to the west of Wauchope near Pappinbarra Rd, Beechwood, moving in an easterly direction towards Beechwood. It was under control but the extreme risk conditions expected later on Sunday were expected to strain containment lines, the NSW rural fire service warned.
Meanwhile, there are several large fires to the west and north-west of Bulahdelah in the vicinity of Gooches Road, Terreell Road South and Howes Creek. People in affected areas have been urged to be extremely vigilant.
“The simple message to the community in those areas particularly affected by catastrophic fire conditions is: do not be in a position where you may find yourself in front of a fire because you won’t survive it,” deputy commissioner Rob Rogers told ABC TV.
The RFS has warned the severity of the conditions on Sunday could not be understated. Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said conditions were worse than those on Black Saturday in 2009, which claimed 173 lives and has been described as one of Australia’s worst peacetime disasters.
“These are unprecedented conditions not only in NSW but Australia, and worse than the forecast for Black Saturday in Victoria,” he said.
Police pleaded with residents to heed warnings from authorities after three teenage bushwalkers were rescued from the Marramarra National Park on the Hawkesbury River, near Sydney.
The two women and one man set off about 2.30pm Saturday, carrying heavy backpacks, and quickly ran out of water. They called emergency services and were rescued after 6pm, suffering mild heat exposure and dehydration.
The acting assistant commissioner Kyle Stewart said the actions of the trio jeopardised the safety of both themselves and first responders.
“While the incident had a good outcome, it could have had a very different ending,” he said. “The simple message is stay out of the national parks and state forests and make sure you avoid any outdoor activities that will put you at risk.”
NSW RFS (@NSWRFS)Revised Fire Danger Ratings - Southern Ranges & Eastern Riverina now Very High Fire Danger. Report fires to Triple Zero (000) #NSWRFS pic.twitter.com/Qv5pK9880r
February 11, 2017
The heatwave across south-east Australia continued to break records on Saturday. Parts of Western Sydney reached 47C on Saturday afternoon, including Penrith, which experienced its hottest day on record.
The outback town of White Cliffs, in NSW’s north-west, broke the record for the hottest minimum overnight temperature. Residents endured a stifling night with a low of only 34.2 degrees.
South Australia’s northern regions and Queensland’s south were also caught in the heatwave.
Canberra recorded its second consecutive 40-degree day for only the third time in its history, while Sydney’s Observatory Hill broke the record for the longest-running spell of days above 35C, which now sits at 10.
While regional areas in NSW were set to swelter again on Sunday, a cooler change was expected to blow into Sydney. Temperatures in the city were not forecast to rise above 30C with a possible shower.
Firefighters kept a close eye on a bushfire east of Dunedoo overnight and said they would take advantage of the milder morning conditions to undertake back burning operations.
The electricity network handled the highest level of electricity use for a Saturday since 2011, according to the Australian Energy Market Operator.
Demand peaked about 13,500 megawatts on Saturday, about 300 megawatts less than originally forecast.
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