Update on Australian bushfires

Sydney under threat: Out-of-

control bushfire heading 

towards western Sydney 

could hit the suburban areas 

TODAY threatening homes

• The Green Wattle Creek bushfire is threatening to break containment lines
• RFS said the blaze has 'potential' to come out into populated areas on Saturday
• Temperatures are expected to soar to 46C, sparking a possible fire catastrophe

Daily Mail,

4 January, 2019

A massive bushfire in Sydney's southwestern outskirts is threatening to break containment lines and could reach suburban areas, firefighters have warned.

Fire crews have been working around the clock to contain the 264,000-hectare blaze that has been burning through Green Wattle Creek, in the Blue Mountains.

NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said the bushfire is a priority for Saturday as 46C heat and high winds could see fires spread wider than ever before.

'There is potential for the fire to break out, cross the (Warragamba) dam and move into the western suburbs of Sydney,' he told reporters on Saturday morning.

'It has the potential to come out into more populated areas this afternoon.'

Sydney's southwestern suburbs including, The Oaks, Mowbray Park, and Picton could be at risk if the fire crosses over.

'That's one of our focus fires, of course, but I would say as a broader message be alert, be focused on any new fires today.'

Fitzsimmons called on residents and tourists in the path of the fires to evacuate as soon as possible.

'Our message has been to make sure you leave yesterday,' he said.

'Leaving it until today is cutting it fine. The sooner you make that decision the better and I would say do it now. Don't leave it any longer because the window will shrink and will shrink very quickly.'

More than 130 fires are burning in NSW and with around 60 uncontained.

Temperatures in parts of the state are expected to soar in the mid-40s Celsius (about 113 Fahrenheit) amid strong winds and low humidity.

The Bureau of Meteorology said conditions were already deteriorating Saturday morning.

'We are getting high temperatures across most of (NSW), including Sydney as well as western and southern parts of the states, as predicted,' the bureau said.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said her state is facing 'another terrible day' and called on people in areas threatened by the fires to leave while they can.

'I'm pleased to say that we've never been as prepared as we are today for the onslaught we're likely to face,' she told reporters at a news conference Saturday morning.

'All of the major road networks are still open but we can't guarantee that beyond the next few hours. So there are still windows for people to get out.'

RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers warned the fires could move 'frighteningly quick.'

Embers carried by the wind had the potential to spark new fires or enlarge existing blazes.

'We are unfortunately very likely to lose homes but we will be very happy and call it a success if no lives are lost,' he said.

Extreme fire danger is forecast for six fire districts in NSW's southeast and the ACT, while severe conditions are forecast for Sydney, the Hunter and the central ranges.

More than 3,000 firefighters are on the frontline, with 31 specialist strike teams in place across NSW.

the Daily Mail,

4 January, 2020

The first of 4,000 people who were stranded in Mallacoota have arrived in naval ships at Western Port, southern Victoria following a mass evacuation on Friday.

Sixty evacuees who fled on the HMAS Sycamore arrived at Hastings around 8am on Saturday, with many expected to head to a relief centre at nearby Somerville.


Thousands of tourists and holidaymakers had been stuck in the small coastal town in the East Gippsland region of Victoria since New Year's Eve after being told it was too dangerous to leave due to raging bushfires.


About 1,200 people were bundled onto two naval ships on Friday, bound for the Mornington Peninsula.


Another 1,100 will reach the site on HMAS Choules in the afternoon, at the end of a journey of almost 20 hours.


Evacuees were seen hugging outside Somerville Recreation Centre as they reunited with friends and loved ones after disembarking.


Emergency Management Commissioner for Victoria Andrew Crisp said both the Sycamore and Choules will re-supply and head back to Mallacoota later today to evacuate the those who stayed behind.



Thousands more, including young families and children remain in Mallacoota, after efforts to evacuate some by helicopter were thwarted by smoky conditions.

Steve Zanetti and his wife Megan and their 13-month-old daughter Mia are among those who are still waiting to be rescued from fire-ravaged East Gippsland.


The family was meant to be evacuated via helicopter late on Friday but were told they would have to stay another night due to poor visibility from heavy smoke.


'Around 8pm we've got call from Victoria Police saying Megan and Mia will be evacuated around 11pm. Then we found it was cancelled, too much smoke,' Mr Zanetti told Today.


Commissioner Crisp said officials will continue to evacuate people via naval ships and helicopters, as weather and smoke conditions allow them.


Blackhawks have also been flying aged and infirm people out of the fire grounds.


'It's not just the ships. We have the plan in place and we know the area is significantly impacted by smoke,' he said.


'We have Chinooks that can carry 50 people, they are ready to go based at East Sale the RAAF Base there, if the smoke clears we can get them in.'


Ben Nutbeen and his family were among those who made it out of Mallacoota on the HMAS Choules that is expected arrive in southern Victoria later today.


'Life on a boat ain't that bad. The kids are settling in well. Fed well, looked after well. They opened the ship us to us, given us full access to any part of the ship we want. Been kind and generous,' he told Today from the ship

We are incredibly thankful to be on here. We are so lucky to have power, beds, showers, water. Heaters TVs,' his kids added. 'After everything that's gone on we are happy to get out of here. Ready to start helping.'


New emergency warnings were issued in Victoria's fire-ravaged east on Saturday morning, taking the total to six, as 50 fires continue to burn across the state with more than 820,000 hectares destroyed.


Emergency crews are bracing for a day of horrific fire conditions with dangerous winds and stifling heat forecast for southeastern Australia sparking fears lightning may whip up fresh blazes as hotter temperatures lash the state.


The worst fires are burning in Victoria's east and on the NSW south coast, where 10 people have died and hundreds of homes have been destroyed.


Premier Gladys Berejiklian said NSW is bracing itself for a difficult day ahead but affirmed authorities have 'never been as prepared as we are today.'


'We have more than 3,000 personnel on the ground, we have 31 strike forces which are essentially mobile firefighting units spread throughout the state so that if there is an unpredictable fire outbreak we can get to it as soon as we can,' she said on Saturday.


'We have around 100 aircraft at our disposal. We people extremely well prepared. As we have seen in the last few weeks no matter how prepared you are you can't predict every single wind gust, what that will do to the fire front.

'We are making sure we have everything in hand and can I just thank our citizens for taking the advice of our experts.'
At least 137 fires continue to burn across the state, with about 60 uncontained.


Mass evacuations in southern New South Wales and eastern Victoria were underway last night as officials warned that 46C heat and high winds will see terrifying fires spread wider than ever before.



The 1,300 inhabitants of Batlow in southern NSW have been told by fire chiefs the historic apple-growing town is 'undefendable'.


Officials have said they will not fight fires there because a wall 1000C flame could rapidly sweep over 100km in one day and make the area a 'dead man zone'.


'We don't want firefighters in the path of it,' said RFS Public Liaison Officer Brad Stewart. Residents were told to leave on Thursday but anyone left will have to seek shelter because it's now too late to get out.


Meanwhile, fires raging outside Sydney could threaten urban areas on the city's outskirts such as Penrith due to temperatures in the 40s, very low humidity and strong winds.


Last night thousands fled a 14,000km evacuation zone - an area roughly the size of Vanuatu - from Bateman's Bay to the Victorian border as officials sent 250,000 text messages telling people to get out before first light.


An evacuation was also under way in South Australia's Kangaroo Island as raging fires threatened almost all of the holiday hotspot, leaving only the more built-up areas in the east safe.


Two people have been killed after a massive bushfire tore through Australia's third largest-island and burned through 150,000 hectares of land.


South Australian Police confirmed the deaths on Saturday morning during a press conference.


The deaths occurred on the Playford Highway.


'It is a very sad message to deliver and we are in the process of contacting the next of kin,' a police spokeswoman said.


'Our hearts go out to the family of those people who have been affected.'


Emergency services are not aware of other residents missing.


Tourists waking up on Kangaroo Island on Saturday saw the true extent of the devastation after the unstoppable fire tornado tore through the island on Friday.


The 350 fire crew already on the island are expected to be joined by another 170 firefighters on Saturday.

The fires are currently at a Watch and Act status.

A warning has been issued by the South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS) on Saturday of the Ravine fire which is uncontrolled.

In a desperate plea late on Friday night, the NSW Rural Fire Service begged those in the path of fires to 'leave tonight' as they pose a 'serious threat to life'.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack urged locals to get out while they can.

'If they haven't got the ability to defend their home, or if they're in an area where they've been advised to leave, then please heed that advice,' Mr McCormack said.


'We can always rebuild houses but we can't restore lives.'



'People getting to places of safety right now is incredibly important,' Prime Minister Scott Morrison said as he toured burnt-out towns on Friday.


'Because in about 24 hours from now, or even less, the situation will be far more dangerous.'


The Rural Fire Service feared strong winds would spark new blazes in the Blue Mountains.


These bushfires could cross the Nepean River into greater Sydney and threaten Penrith if strong winds spread burning embers.

An alert was issued on Friday afternoon predicting the worst for Saturday afternoon as the Bureau of Meteorology forecast maximum 46C temperatures for Penrith and Richmond.


'Severe to extreme fire danger is forecast for these areas tomorrow with temperatures in the 40s, very low humidity and strong winds,' the RFS said.



'A south-westerly change will impact inland fires tomorrow afternoon and evening, and a gusty southerly change will impact coastal fires from late tomorrow afternoon, reaching Sydney around midnight.'

'These conditions will make fire behaviour erratic and very dangerous.'


More than 170,000 people living in Penrith and surrounding suburbs on the western edge of Sydney are potentially at risk.


The RFS issued a map showing the possibility of embers spreading from areas of the Blue Mountains to the north.


'Potential ember attack – you should not be in this area on Saturday as new fires could start and spread quickly,' it said.


'If you are in the area of the general areas on this map, be vigilant for new fires that may start well ahead of the fire front.'


The RFS feared new fires could start on Saturday in the Lower Blue Mountains, parts of western Sydney and the Southern Highlands.


'There may potentially be new fires burning in these areas that we do not yet know about, which may threaten you without warning,' it said.


The weather bureau rated the chance of rainfall on Saturday at five per cent, as Australia continued to battle the worst drought in living memory.


Making matters worse, the Gospers Mountain fire north-west of Sydney has already burnt since late October, destroying more than 510,000 hectares of bushland.


A new fire in the overlapping Wollemi National Park area began on Friday afternoon.


The Green Wattle Creek fire, south of Sydney, is also continuing to burn around Lake Burragorang - a man-made waterway is connected to Warragamba Dam, which supplies drinking water to 3.7million people in Sydney.


Thousands of people have already fled Australia's bushfire-ravaged southeast as a state of emergency is declared and catastrophic fire conditions approach.



Streams of cars, caravans, trucks and buses clogged the highways as people heed the warnings to leave.


Dozens of makeshift campsites are springing up in towns deemed safe by authorities, straining resources despite the military's ongoing relief operation.

For Anthony Ellis, who evacuated his family from Surf Beach near Batemans Bay in NSW, leaving was a no-brainer after a blaze burned too close for comfort on New Year's Eve.


'The smoke behind us just changed,' he said. 'It was just solid walls of darkness.'


What will happen to the Mallacoota evacuees?

HMAS Sycamore will dock in Hastings around 8am Saturday morning with the first 60 evacuees.


The other 1,100 will arrive Saturday evening on board HMAS Choules.


As of 8pm, HMAS Choules had not set sail from Mallacoota.


The family made for the beach, where they were trapped for the next five hours as the fire roared through nearby towns.


'You couldn't even risk it to move through the suburb to check on other people,' Mr Ellis said. 'We decided we're not going to risk it twice in one week.'


A state of disaster has been declared in Victoria as the navy continues its evacuation of about 1,200 trapped tourists and residents from fire-ringed Mallacoota, in East Gippsland.


The town was hit by a massive blaze on Tuesday as 4,000 people sheltered on a beach amid apocalyptic scenes that were broadcast across the globe.


Evacuees, many with pets, will travel for about 20 hours to the Mornington Peninsula, where an evacuation centre is likely to be set up.


Military personnel were called in to evacuate people after fire reached the edge of the township and blocked their exit. Most were being taken on a 17-hour voyage by ship to the HMAS Cerberus naval base at Western Port.


Premier Daniel Andrews says 28 people remain missing in Victoria, on top of two men confirmed dead, the latest a man found at a property near Genoa, in the state's east.


An eighth person was confirmed dead in NSW on Friday after police found a missing 72-year-old man's body in the town of Belowra, in the state's south.

It's bring's the death toll for the fire season to 17 in NSW after police confirmed the death of a 59-year-old man, who was burned while sheltering from a bushfire in a water tank in November.


In South Australia, where one person has died and dozens of homes have been destroyed this summer, a bushfire on Kangaroo Island has become 'virtually unstoppable' after it jumped containment lines.


An emergency warning had been declared across the entire island and tourists have been evacuated.


Late on Friday, the Country Fire Service also issued an emergency warning for a blaze in the Mount Lofty Ranges.


In Western Australia, a series of out-of-control bushfires on Nullarbor Plain have cut the state's only sealed road to South Australia, causing shortages in some Perth supermarkets and stranding hundreds of truckies and travellers at a remote roadhouse on the Eyre Highway.


A second home has been destroyed in Tasmania by a bushfire police believe was deliberately lit. Hot and windy weather will push the fire danger to very high on the weekend, with a total fire ban declared across much of the island.


The ACT has declared a state of alert as toxic smoke blankets the capital.



Across Australia, 20 people have died and more than 1,500 homes have been destroyed in bushfires this season.  
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7849985/First-Mallacoota-evacuees-arrive-Western-Port-Victoria.html