Australia: Fear of mega-fire diminishes

A firefighter at Bilpin, 46 miles from Sydney yesterday. Picture: AP

However, hot weather that could have caused a catastrophic mega-fire did not materialise, allowing authorities to tell some evacuated residents it was safe to return to home.

New fires continued to erupt yesterday while strong winds revived and strengthened blazes in the Blue Mountains, a major commuter area of small towns west of Sydney.

Around 60 fires were still burning across New South Wales (NSW), with more than 2,000 firefighters struggling to contain them, with more hot and windy weather forecast.

As exhausted firefighters moved from fire to fire, residents used garden hoses to try to save their homes.

More than 200 homes have been destroyed in NSW since last Thursday, when fires tore through Sydney’s outskirts, razing entire streets. One man died from a heart attack while trying to save his property from the flames.

Earlier yesterday, Blue Mountains’ residents were urged to drive to the safety of metropolitan Sydney, but by the evening some were returning home.

“If you have been someone that has chosen to depart the Blue Mountains today to be out of harm’s way, then it would be safe to head back home tonight because the risk has been averted,” said Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons.

Mr Fitzsimmons warned the situation could deteriorate again and urged people to be vigilant.

“There are still fires flaring up, impacting on communities,” he said. “I won’t rest easy until I know things have settled right down over the next 24 hours or so and we start seeing some really good further consolidation of control lines and bringing these fires more under control.”

The fires have burned through more than 300,000 acres within an area with a perimeter of 990 miles. Firefighters still fear strong winds may see three major fires in the Blue Mountains join up in coming days, causing a mega-fire.

Air pollution in parts of Sydney has spiked with some neighbourhoods blanketed in smoke. The NSW government has declared a state of emergency enabling it to order evacuations, hoping to avoid a repeat of the 2009 “Black Saturday” fires in Victoria state that killed 173 people and caused A$4.4 billion (£2.6bn) worth of damage. The insurance council of Australia said claims of more than A$93 million were expected to grow.

Police have arrested several children suspected of starting several fires. Other fires were sparked by power lines arcing in strong winds, according to the fire service. However, the biggest fire was started during an army training exercise when an explosion ignited bushland.

Record hot and dry weather across Australia and an early start to the fire season in the Southern Hemisphere spring have revived arguments about global warming.

Climate scientists say Australia is one of the countries most at risk with worsening fires, floods and droughts.

But conservative premier Tony Abbott has rejected any link between the Sydney fires and rising carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, a major Australian export.

“Climate change is real and we should take strong action against it,” Mr Abbott told local radio.

“But these fires are certainly not a function of climate change, they are just a function of life in Australia.”

Elected in September, Mr Abbott plans to repeal the previous government’s carbon emissions tax and replace it with a “Direct Action” scheme involving reforestation and financial incentives to business to cut pollution.