Gumleaf
January 7th, 2013, 04:58 PM
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/01/08/06/03/fire-danger-across-australia-as-temperatures-surge
AAP6:03am January 8, 2013
The severe bushfire threat plaguing parts of NSW, Victoria and Tasmania is only set to worsen, as Australians prepare for what could be the hottest day in history, with the average national temperature predicted to hit 43C.
Australians woke up to a hot morning.
As of 8.05am (AEDT), the mercury had risen to 23C in Sydney and 24C in Brisbane, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Share your photos and videos of the heatwave and fires on ninemsn
At the same time, Adelaide residents were greeting temperatures of 22C while it was slightly cooler in Melbourne at 19C.
Perth recorded a sweltering 28C by 5.05am (WST).
Homes damaged by a bushfire are seen from a helicopter between Dunalley and Boomer Bay, Tasmania. (AAP)In NSW, fire danger in the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and southern ranges has been categorised as "catastrophic" due to the hot and dry conditions.
A total fire ban has been established statewide as teams from the NSW Rural Fire Service continue to fight large blazes at Oura and Shoalhaven.
All national parks and reserves are closed today in NSW as rangers visit popular campsites, encouraging people to leave.
Fire-weary Tasmanian officials have also declared a total fire ban today, with strong northerly winds predicted across the state.
Over 100 properties have been destroyed since last week, concentrated in the fishing village of Dunalley.
No deaths from the fires have been reported, but emergency services crews are conducting property-to-property searches for human remains and many people are still unaccounted for.
A bushfire burning 90 km west of West Wylong in NSW. (AAP)A 31-year-old New Norfolk man is expected to be charged after leaving his unextinguished campfire unattended last week, starting a 10,000 hectare blaze.
In Victoria, fire services will be stretched on two fronts - in the southwest, where it is feared the Kentbruck blaze could double in size because of strong winds, and in the north where temperatures will be in the 40s.
Fire services commissioner Craig Lapsley said the immediate concern was the bushfire in the southwest, where almost 500 firefighters are concentrated and which has burnt out 4000 hectares of pine plantation but was threatening the rural community of Drik Drik yesterday.
"It will be a fire that will be pushed with winds and we believe that it's got the potential to move a significant distance tomorrow, potentially block the Princes Highway and have further impacts on the rural community around Drik Drik and Dartmoor," Mr Lapsley said.
Plumes of smoke from the fire drifted over nearby Dartmoor and rural community of Mumbannar and was visible for kilometres.
Searing conditions in the north of the state has meant a severe fire danger rating along the South Australian border, along the Murray River and the border with NSW.
"It's going to be a severe day and, coupled with the weather that's in NSW, we will see the potential for fires to start early in the day and, without much time at all, they become uncontrolled fires, which is the major concern," Mr Lapsley said.
Bureau of Meteorology climatologist Dr David Jones said Australians should prepare for more prolonged heatwaves this summer.
The country's record national average temperature is 40.17C, which was reached on December 21, 1972.
© ninemsn 2013
AAP6:03am January 8, 2013
The severe bushfire threat plaguing parts of NSW, Victoria and Tasmania is only set to worsen, as Australians prepare for what could be the hottest day in history, with the average national temperature predicted to hit 43C.
Australians woke up to a hot morning.
As of 8.05am (AEDT), the mercury had risen to 23C in Sydney and 24C in Brisbane, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Share your photos and videos of the heatwave and fires on ninemsn
At the same time, Adelaide residents were greeting temperatures of 22C while it was slightly cooler in Melbourne at 19C.
Perth recorded a sweltering 28C by 5.05am (WST).
Homes damaged by a bushfire are seen from a helicopter between Dunalley and Boomer Bay, Tasmania. (AAP)In NSW, fire danger in the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and southern ranges has been categorised as "catastrophic" due to the hot and dry conditions.
A total fire ban has been established statewide as teams from the NSW Rural Fire Service continue to fight large blazes at Oura and Shoalhaven.
All national parks and reserves are closed today in NSW as rangers visit popular campsites, encouraging people to leave.
Fire-weary Tasmanian officials have also declared a total fire ban today, with strong northerly winds predicted across the state.
Over 100 properties have been destroyed since last week, concentrated in the fishing village of Dunalley.
No deaths from the fires have been reported, but emergency services crews are conducting property-to-property searches for human remains and many people are still unaccounted for.
A bushfire burning 90 km west of West Wylong in NSW. (AAP)A 31-year-old New Norfolk man is expected to be charged after leaving his unextinguished campfire unattended last week, starting a 10,000 hectare blaze.
In Victoria, fire services will be stretched on two fronts - in the southwest, where it is feared the Kentbruck blaze could double in size because of strong winds, and in the north where temperatures will be in the 40s.
Fire services commissioner Craig Lapsley said the immediate concern was the bushfire in the southwest, where almost 500 firefighters are concentrated and which has burnt out 4000 hectares of pine plantation but was threatening the rural community of Drik Drik yesterday.
"It will be a fire that will be pushed with winds and we believe that it's got the potential to move a significant distance tomorrow, potentially block the Princes Highway and have further impacts on the rural community around Drik Drik and Dartmoor," Mr Lapsley said.
Plumes of smoke from the fire drifted over nearby Dartmoor and rural community of Mumbannar and was visible for kilometres.
Searing conditions in the north of the state has meant a severe fire danger rating along the South Australian border, along the Murray River and the border with NSW.
"It's going to be a severe day and, coupled with the weather that's in NSW, we will see the potential for fires to start early in the day and, without much time at all, they become uncontrolled fires, which is the major concern," Mr Lapsley said.
Bureau of Meteorology climatologist Dr David Jones said Australians should prepare for more prolonged heatwaves this summer.
The country's record national average temperature is 40.17C, which was reached on December 21, 1972.
© ninemsn 2013