MOUNT VICTORIA, Australia: Firefighters in Australia battled hot, dry winds and soaring temperatures yesterday as new blazes were whipped up in a week-long bushfire emergency, but fears of a catastrophe eased.
With the crisis in its seventh day, some 71 fires were raging across an area with a perimeter of 1,600 kilometres in New South Wales state and 29 of them were uncontained.
Warnings were again issued for people to be extra-vigilant, although there were no reports of more property being lost.
“There are still fires flaring up, impacting on communities,” said NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons, who added that he will “not rest easy until we start seeing some really good further consolidation of control lines and bringing these fires more under control”.
But he said their worst fears in the Blue Mountains region west of Sydney, a popular tourist area home to 75,000 people where three huge infernos have been burning for days, had eased.
AFP
