Gumleaf
January 7th, 2009, 05:28 AM
17:50 AEST Wed Jan 7 2009
A cool southerly change should help control bushfires burning across NSW, but the Rural Fire Service (RFS) warns the winds could also hinder their work.
Firefighters are still battling two serious blazes, one in the NSW southern highlands and one in the Hunter region, which between them have burnt almost 900 hectares of forest.
The first bushfire near Bundanoon, south of Sydney was started by a lightning strike on Sunday and has already destroyed more than 600 hectares of Morton National Park.
Limited ground crews were being reinforced by 15 aerial water-bombers in an attempt to control the blaze, an RFS spokesman said.
"Because the terrain is so inaccessible for ground crews, it's pretty much our main attack of the fire at the moment," the spokesman told AAP on Wednesday.
"At this stage, crews are also trying to strengthen the other containment lines but it's proving to be very challenging given the winds and the temperatures.
"We're expecting a southerly change tonight, which will bring 20 to 25 kilometre winds from the south and cooler temperatures for tomorrow, so hopefully that will assist in the firefighting efforts.
"But at the same time, the winds also bring their own problems in changing the fire's direction."
Another fire in Yengo National Park near Singleton has ravaged more than 260 hectares, but is being brought under control.
Only the eastern edge of the fire is yet to be contained.
"We've got crews on the ground in front of that at the moment and we've got about four aircraft operating on it as well," the spokesman said.
Earlier on Wednesday, RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons urged at-risk homeowners to prepare their properties for fires by removing flammable debris and cleaning gutters.
"We don't want the welcome relief we've had over spring to be a trigger for complacency," Mr Fitzsimmons told reporters.
"What we've seen in the last 24 hours and indeed we'll see today is the weather ingredients of hot dry windy conditions.
"Given the underlying moisture deficit in NSW ... it does not take very much to have vegetation susceptible to fire and, if fire ignites, the rapid spread of fire, which is what we saw yesterday afternoon."
NSW is currently on a high fire alert and a total fire ban is being enforced in the south-west of the state.
© AAP 2009
A cool southerly change should help control bushfires burning across NSW, but the Rural Fire Service (RFS) warns the winds could also hinder their work.
Firefighters are still battling two serious blazes, one in the NSW southern highlands and one in the Hunter region, which between them have burnt almost 900 hectares of forest.
The first bushfire near Bundanoon, south of Sydney was started by a lightning strike on Sunday and has already destroyed more than 600 hectares of Morton National Park.
Limited ground crews were being reinforced by 15 aerial water-bombers in an attempt to control the blaze, an RFS spokesman said.
"Because the terrain is so inaccessible for ground crews, it's pretty much our main attack of the fire at the moment," the spokesman told AAP on Wednesday.
"At this stage, crews are also trying to strengthen the other containment lines but it's proving to be very challenging given the winds and the temperatures.
"We're expecting a southerly change tonight, which will bring 20 to 25 kilometre winds from the south and cooler temperatures for tomorrow, so hopefully that will assist in the firefighting efforts.
"But at the same time, the winds also bring their own problems in changing the fire's direction."
Another fire in Yengo National Park near Singleton has ravaged more than 260 hectares, but is being brought under control.
Only the eastern edge of the fire is yet to be contained.
"We've got crews on the ground in front of that at the moment and we've got about four aircraft operating on it as well," the spokesman said.
Earlier on Wednesday, RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons urged at-risk homeowners to prepare their properties for fires by removing flammable debris and cleaning gutters.
"We don't want the welcome relief we've had over spring to be a trigger for complacency," Mr Fitzsimmons told reporters.
"What we've seen in the last 24 hours and indeed we'll see today is the weather ingredients of hot dry windy conditions.
"Given the underlying moisture deficit in NSW ... it does not take very much to have vegetation susceptible to fire and, if fire ignites, the rapid spread of fire, which is what we saw yesterday afternoon."
NSW is currently on a high fire alert and a total fire ban is being enforced in the south-west of the state.
© AAP 2009