City under siege from `unstoppable' firestorm: [1 All-round Country Edition]
Benjamin Haslem, John Stapleton, Louise Milligan. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 05 Dec 2002: 1.
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"Under these conditions fires cannot be stopped," NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Phil Koperberg said last night after the worst day so far in what is already a horror bushfire season for NSW.
Late yesterday, 67 aircraft and thousands of firefighters were battling more than 60 blazes in Sydney, as well as major fires west of Nowra on the NSW south coast -- where four homes were alight last night -- and in the Hunter Valley north of Sydney.
Two firefighters suffered broken legs at Alfords Point, and there was an unconfirmed report of a Rural Fire Service truck destroyed near Glenorie and another alight at Wattle Grove.
FIREFIGHTERS last night were waging a losing battle to control massive bushfires on Sydney's southern and northern outskirts that destroyed at least 19 homes and injured several volunteers from the Rural Fire Service.
Driven by 100km/h winds, temperatures in the high 30s and humidity as low as 4 per cent, more than 40 bushfires broke out in the greater Sydney area in thespace of an hour, about 3pm.
"Under these conditions fires cannot be stopped," NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Phil Koperberg said last night after the worst day so far in what is already a horror bushfire season for NSW.
Late yesterday, 67 aircraft and thousands of firefighters were battling more than 60 blazes in Sydney, as well as major fires west of Nowra on the NSW south coast -- where four homes were alight last night -- and in the Hunter Valley north of Sydney.
Mr Koperberg would not rule out arson as a cause of many of the blazes.
A massive fire burning across the Baulkham Hills shire, on Sydney's northern fringe, last night destroyed about 15 homes in Glenorie.
In the city's southwest, dozens of homes were under threat from another blaze burning near Holsworthy army barracks.
That fire started near Glenfield, south of Liverpool, and burned rapidly east towards the Georges River, destroying one home in Wattle Grove, another in Sandy Point and two in Alfords Point.
Australian cricketer Glen McGrath was trying last night to save the Alfords Point home of Test captain Steve Waugh, who was flying back from Melbourne to be with his family.
Sarah St Quintin's Wattle Grove home, which backs on to the Holsworthy Military Reserve, was half destroyed by the blaze.
The flames were leaping in from the reserve, 50m from her house, when Ms St Quintin fled with her eight-month-old son, William, at 3.30pm.
The high school teacher was philosophical about the destruction, joking that she turned back to save her favourite pair of shoes.
"It's just a house, I'm still alive," she said.
"It probably hasn't sunk in yet -- but we have managed to save some of the little things, and that's nice."
Two firefighters suffered broken legs at Alfords Point, and there was an unconfirmed report of a Rural Fire Service truck destroyed near Glenorie and another alight at Wattle Grove.
The severe weather conditions are expected to continue today, and Mr Koperberg warned it would be a miracle if more suburbs in Sydney's north and south did not come under serious threat.
"It's not dissimilar to what we saw Christmas Day last," Mr Koperberg said. "Places that burnt only 11 months ago are burning again due to the extreme conditions."
The effects of the fires were felt across Sydney as flashovers on high-voltage transmission lines caused power supply surges that knocked out computer system.
The M5 and M4 motorways were closed by fires, while the city's suburban train services were thrown into chaos by the power failures.
Illustration
Caption: Inferno: Flames encircle a home in the northwestern Sydney suburb of Glenorie yesterday Picture: Chris Pavlich; Photo: MapPhoto
No relief for besieged city: [3 All-round Metro Edition]
Jennifer Sexton, John Stapleton, Simone Pitsis. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 05 Dec 2002: 5.
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The biggest blaze, around Glenorie in Sydney's outer north, travelled 18km in two hours from about 3pm, and was last night moving rapidly towards Berowra Waters.
Winds were lifting roofs off houses in Taree, on the mid-north coast of NSW. "A strong gradient in temperature has produced strong northwest (and) southwesterly winds," Mr King said. "The state has seen thunderstorms produce little in the way of rain but instead bringing damaging winds of up to 135km/h in the Hunter Valley."
Unstoppable: A house goes up in Henry Lawson Drive, Picnic Point; a burnt-out water tanker, top right, at Glenorie; residents in Alfords Point battle smoke; and, below, the Glenorie blaze Pictures: Jeff Herbert, Matt Hurford, Lindsay Moller and Dean Marzolla; Photo: Photo
THERE will be little relief until at least tomorrow morning for NSW from the wild weather that hit yesterday causing "unstoppable" fires around Sydney.
Sydney's surrounding suburbs were ablaze by mid-afternoon yesterday as temperatures soared and winds gusted up to 100km/h.
Earlier a line of thunderstorms swept through the Hunter Valley, north of Sydney, inflicting severe damage on 10 homes ahead of afternoon fires that raged through parts of the valley including Singleton, Broke and Pokolbin.
"Under these conditions fires cannot be stopped," NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Phil Koperberg said. "Winds are causing eratic fire behaviour."
Firefighters were stunned by how quickly conditions deteriorated around 3pm yesterday.
In the space of an hour they went from dealing with no major fires in Sydney to fighting dozens of blazes fanned by hot, dry, gale-force westerlies.
The biggest blaze, around Glenorie in Sydney's outer north, travelled 18km in two hours from about 3pm, and was last night moving rapidly towards Berowra Waters.
Residents in Mt Kuring-gai, Cowan, Berowra Waters, Berowra Heights and Brooklyn are being urged to stay home today so they can help save their homes from the approaching inferno.
A fire at Glenfield south of Liverpool had initially threatened a few streets yesterday but quickly raced across the Holsworthy military reserve, placing hundreds of homes along the western shore of the Georges River under threat.
Metropolitan firefighters joined the battle, leaving just 15 firetrucks to cope with potential city fires.
Assistant NSW Fire Brigade Commissioner Greg Mullins said the service's commitment to the bushfires was unprecedented.
Today's forecast offers no respite, with gale-force westerly winds expected across the state -- though temperatures should be about 5C cooler.
Conditions will moderate on Friday and Saturday before temperatures are expected to soar on Sunday.
The city remains in extreme fire danger until at least the end of the week.
"The weather has been very unkind to NSW," Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Philip King said last night.
Winds were lifting roofs off houses in Taree, on the mid-north coast of NSW. "A strong gradient in temperature has produced strong northwest (and) southwesterly winds," Mr King said. "The state has seen thunderstorms produce little in the way of rain but instead bringing damaging winds of up to 135km/h in the Hunter Valley."
Illustration
Caption: Unstoppable: A house goes up in Henry Lawson Drive, Picnic Point; a burnt-out water tanker, top right, at Glenorie; residents in Alfords Point battle smoke; and, below, the Glenorie blaze Pictures: Jeff Herbert, Matt Hurford, Lindsay Moller and Dean Marzolla; Photo: Photo
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The unstoppable firestorm: [3 All-round Metro Edition]
Benjamin Haslem, John Stapleton, John Ellicott, Nigel Wilson. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 05 Dec 2002: 1.
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By late yesterday, 67 aircraft and thousands of firefighters were battling more than 60 fires around Sydney, as well as major blazes west of Nowra on the south coast -- where five homes were destroyed last night -- and in the Hunter Valley north of Sydney.
A massive fire burning across the Baulkham Hills Shire, on Sydney's northern fringe, had claimed last night 15 homes in Glenorie alone.
Raging inferno: Flames encircle a home in the northwestern Sydney suburb of Glenorie and below the solar eclipse masked by firesPicture: Chris Pavlich; Photo: MapPhoto
FIREFIGHTERS were fighting a losing battle last night to control massive bushfires on Sydney's southern and northern outskirts that destroyed at more than 20 homes and plunged the city into chaos.
Driven by 100km/h winds, temperatures in the high 30s and humidity as low as 4 per cent, more than 40 fires broke out in the Greater Sydney area within an hour, about 3pm.
"Under these conditions fires cannot be stopped ... (the) winds are causing erratic fire behaviour," NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Phil Koperberg said last night, after the worst day so far in what is already a horror bushfire season for NSW.
Severe weather conditions are expected again today, with strong and squally westerly winds, and temperatures reaching 30C.
Mr Koperberg warned it would be a miracle if more suburbs in Sydney's north and south did not come under serious threat.
"It is not dissimilar to what we saw Christmas Day last," Mr Koperberg said.
"Places that burned only 11 months ago are burning again due to the extreme conditions."
He would not rule out arson as a cause of many of yesterday's blazes.
Late last night, firefighters were racing to combat fresh outbreaks at Mt Riverview and Mitchell's Pass, in the lower Blue Mountains.
Effects of the fires were felt across Sydney yesterday, including in the CBD, as flashovers on huge high-voltage transmission lines near the fires caused power supply surges that blacked out homes and offices, disrupted rail services and industries, and caused road chaos as traffic lights failed.
Major entertainment events in Sydney were cancelled last night, including John Farnham's concert at the Entertainment Centre and all performances at theOpera House.
Fire hit an electricity substation in the city's south, forcing the closure of the M5 East motorway tunnel, while power failure also forced closure of Museum railway station in the centre of the city.
Commuters were asked to spend a few more hours in the city Christmas shopping while the fault was repaired.
By late yesterday, 67 aircraft and thousands of firefighters were battling more than 60 fires around Sydney, as well as major blazes west of Nowra on the south coast -- where five homes were destroyed last night -- and in the Hunter Valley north of Sydney.
A massive fire burning across the Baulkham Hills Shire, on Sydney's northern fringe, had claimed last night 15 homes in Glenorie alone.
In the city's southwest, dozens of homes were under threat from a blaze burning near Holsworthy army barracks.
That fire started near Glenfield and destroyed one home in Wattle Grove and another in Sandy Point.
Several buildings at the Holsworthy barracks were also destroyed.
Last night, cricketer Glenn McGrath was trying to save the Alfords Point home of his Test captain, Steve Waugh, who was flying back from Melbourne to be with his family.
Two firefighters suffered broken legs at Alfords Point, while a Rural Fire Service truck was severely damaged near Glenorie and there were reports of another alight at Wattle Grove.
Fears the flames could detonate unexploded artillery shells on army land meant aircraft could not water-bomb much of the Holsworthy fire.
Illustration
Caption: Raging inferno: Flames encircle a home in the northwestern Sydney suburb of Glenorie and below the solar eclipse masked by firesPicture: Chris Pavlich; Photo: MapPhoto
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