Homes
destroyed in NSW bushfire
ABC,
PHOTO: A view from the International Space Station shows bushfire smoke clouds over southern Australia. (Twitter: Chris Hadfield)
PHOTO: A building destroyed by a bushfire sits next to a building untouched by the same bushfire at the Siding Spring Observatory. (NSW Rural Fire Service)
The
New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) says at least 33 homes have
been lost in a bushfire west of Coonabarabran, which also damaged the
Siding Spring Observatory.
ABC,
14
January, 2013
The
fire in the Warrumbungle National Park in the north-west of the state
has burnt out nearly 40,000 hectares and has a 100-kilometre-wide
front.
About
100 people living in the area have been forced to evacuate their
homes as officials warn the amount of properties lost could rise.
The
fire is burning in a northerly direction away from Timor Road and is
about one kilometre south of Bugaldie.
The
Rural Fire Service has confirmed 33 properties and more than 40 sheds
have been destroyed, as well as machinery and there have been
extensive stock losses.
RFS
Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers says the fire burned on Sunday with a
ferocity not seen for many years in New South Wales.
"The
smoke plume of that fire extended some 14km into the air and even
prevented us from getting aircraft overhead because of just how
dangerous and bumpy the conditions were," he said.
"Embers
were being blown ahead of the fire and starting a new fire some 5km
ahead and it became very apparent early in the piece that there was
just absolutely no stopping that fire and it was simply too unsafe to
leave people."
Mr
Rogers says those who were removed from the area should not try to
return until authorities deem it safe.
"At
this point in time, we ask for their patience," he said.
"We
know people are hurting, we know people have lost homes and we know
homes are more than bricks and mortar, we know that it's their
possessions and memories, we know it's very important... but not as
important as their life."
Mr
Rogers says crews are throwing every resource at the fire but he
cannot guarantee it will be contained before warm weather returns
later in the week.
Meanwhile,
a watch and act alert has been issued for another fire, north-east of
Coonabarabran, which has closed the Newell Highway.
The
RFS says the two-hectare blaze is burning out of control but is not
threatening properties at this stage.
Eighteen
staff from the Siding Spring Observatory had to be led to safety at
the height of the blaze last night.
The
observatory, run by the Australian National University (ANU), is the
country's largest optical astronomy research facility and was
deliberately located in the Warrumbungle Ranges for the altitude,
clear air, and low humidity.
ANU
acting vice-chancellor Erik Lithander says five buildings, including
cottages that house staff, have been destroyed, but fortunately the
facility's 15 telescopes remain intact.
"First
and foremost, the major relief is that all the staff were brought
safely down from the mountain," he said.
"The
fact that the telescopes seem to be undamaged is significant because
this is the largest observatory site in Australia - it's the home to
the largest optical telescope in Australia."
The
university says it has about $80 million worth of assets on the site
and they are fully covered by insurance.
Dr
Lithander says there will be closer inspection of the site when it is
deemed safe.
"We
do not yet know that impact the extreme heat and the ash has had on
the telescopes themselves, and we won't be able carry out that
assessment until we can enter the buildings and inspect the inside of
them," he said.
ANU
staff are travelling from Canberra to take stock of the fire's
impact.
The
astronomer in charge of the observatory, Professor Fred Watson, has
been monitoring the situation from Norway.
He
said lessons were learnt from the fires which destroyed the Mount
Stromlo observatory in Canberra in 2003.
"For
example there was a program of undergrowth clearing. There was a
program of fitting ember screens to all the windows and all the
buildings on the observatory, which means that you can't get embers
penetrating into the buildings and setting fire from the inside,
which is what happened at Stromlo," he said.
PHOTO: A view from the International Space Station shows bushfire smoke clouds over southern Australia. (Twitter: Chris Hadfield)
Rural
Fire Service Superintendent Allyn Purkiss says extra crews are being
brought in from across the state today to help fight the Warrumbungle
fire.
"We'll
work into the day to keep properties protected around Bugaldie,"
he said.
"The
fire as I said was running under some very strong winds up to about
two o'clock this morning when the winds dropped and the fire
conditions slowed right down.
"Rural
properties between Baradine and Coonabarabran and between
Coonabarabran and out towards Siding Springs, certainly those people
were evacuated."
Two
evacuation centres were set up at the Tattersalls Hotel in Baradine
and the Coonabarabran Bowling Club.
'Fire
storm in the sky'
Donna
Burton owns one of the properties that was evacuated and does not
know whether her home has been destroyed.
She
says as she was leaving, the flames were already on her property.
"Just
the way the wind changed, it just became the most frightening thing I
think I've seen... or I want to see," she said.
"You
could see a fire ball. It was like - you saw the darkness, you saw
the smoke, you smelt it - it was almost like a mushroom cloud, but
you could hear the crackling and the flames.
"It
was literally a fire storm in the sky."
Large
parts of NSW have been affected by bushfires this past week, brought
on by searing temperatures and wild winds.
More
than 170 fires continue to burn across the state and at least 30 of
them are uncontained.
Firefighters
in the state's north-west worked through the night to strengthen
containment lines around a grass fire that had been threatening homes
at Bundabarina, west of Collarenebri.
That
fire has now been downgraded to advice status.
Superintendent
John Cook says the cooler overnight conditions helped crews get the
upper hand.
"We
have no properties that have been lost and we have no properties that
are under threat," he said.
"There
was a stage where we were concerned about the township of
Collarenebri, but with the hard work that the volunteers did we were
able to allay the fear of the threat [to] Collarenebri."
PHOTO: A building destroyed by a bushfire sits next to a building untouched by the same bushfire at the Siding Spring Observatory. (NSW Rural Fire Service)
Firefighter
killed
Firefighters
are also working to control blazes in Victoria and Tasmania, while
the threat from fires in Central Australia has eased.
In
Tasmania, a Victorian firefighter has died while fighting a bushfire
on the Tasman Peninsula, south of Hobart.
The
man aged in his 60s was found dead yesterday about three kilometres
from a fire edge east of Taranna.
He
was one of the Victorian firefighters sent to Hobart to assist in
controlling the bushfires that have destroyed about 170 properties.
A
report is being prepared for the coroner.
The
Tasmanian Fire Service and the Premier have expressed their
condolences.
"It's
the worst news we can get, one piece of news we certainly don't want
to get," chief fire officer Mike Brown said.
Fires
continue to burn across the state, which has already lost about 170
properties.
Mr
Brown has urged vigilance, particularly near the peninsula area.
"With
worse weather forecast for later in the week, we hold concerns still
for that area."
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