Updated
New South Wales' alpine resorts will likely be in the
path of major blazes today as the state braces for "dangerous and
difficult" fire conditions.
Key points:
- Temperatures will reach the mid-to-high 30s on the coast at the high 40s in the Riverina
- A southerly change will hit the south of the state in the late afternoon and the state's north early on Saturday
- Authorities expect erratic bushfire conditions where inland north-westerly winds meet north-easterly coastal breezes
Hot temperatures and a late southerly change, including winds gusting up to 90 kilometres per hour in some areas, will challenge the 2,600 firefighters battling more than 130 fires.
The Rural Fire Service (RFS) yesterday released maps of where major blazes could spread, including so-called "red zones" where people will be in the most danger.
A blaze destroyed Selwyn Snow Resort at the weekend and nearby Perisher and Thredbo are at risk today, with fire danger in the area rated "extreme".
Much of the South Coast — which has been ravaged by deadly fires since New Year's Eve — is bracing for dire conditions today, too.
RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said the Southern Slopes were expected to be the worst-affected area today.
"Everywhere south of Tumut, all the way down through Kosciuszko, and you have got places like our alpine resorts — Thredbo, Perisher, Guthega," he said.
Mr Fitzsimmons said several smaller fires burning in the area had "every potential" to join together under Friday's conditions.
"As we have seen in the last couple of months, we only need an ember or two to get out of the thousands of kilometres of fire ebbs that's down there to start a new fire, start an outbreak and start presenting challenges."
Total fire bans are in place for 10 NSW regions.
On top of the "extreme" rating in the Southern Slopes, the fire danger is rated severe across the Monaro Alpine, Southern Ranges and Eastern Riverina.
Most other regions across the state will have a very high fire danger.
However, authorities do not expect conditions to be as bad as those the state experienced last Saturday when dozens of properties were destroyed across NSW.
Temperatures inland will be particularly high, with the mercury expected to hit 45 degrees Celsius in Griffith, 43C in Wagga Wagga, and 36C in Cooma, while winds will tend north-westerly.
Coastal temperatures will reach the low-to-mid 30s with onshore easterly winds.
Winds of around 30-40kph are expected earlier in the day before reaching 55-65kph with gusts of up to 90kph once the southerly hits.
Damaging winds may affect Sydney, Wollongong, Wagga Wagga, Albury, Cobar and Broken Hill.
RFS Shoalhaven incident controller Mark Williams said conditions would become "erratic" where inland north-westerly winds were expected to converge with north-easterly coastal breezes.
"At the point where those two winds mix is where we get some significant and erratic fire behaviour and once the southerly comes through very late in the evening tomorrow night, that will actually introduce a third wind into the mix which will make it even more erratic and obviously the wind speed with that will also be a concern," he said.
There is still active fire at the Morton and Green Wattle Creek fires in the Southern Highlands and the Currowan fire in the Shoalhaven, with authorities warning residents to monitor conditions across all firegrounds.
Firefighters across the state took advantage of cooler weather over the past few days to strengthen containment lines ahead of today.
However, increased humidity and rain across some fire grounds hampered some backburning activity.
Authorities have confirmed that 1,870 NSW homes have been destroyed since the start of the fire season, with another 753 damaged.
The NSW Government yesterday announced it would commit an extra $1 billion to help rebuild bushfire-ravaged communities.
It comes on top of more than $200 million already committed by the State Government, and a $2 billion national fund provided by the Federal Government.
Stay across our bushfire coverage:
- Snow guns being used to defend Victorian alpine properties
- People in coastal Kangaroo Island town of Kingscote cornered by fires
- Kosciuszko National Park could take centuries to recover from bushfire damage
- What the experts say about hazard reduction burns and our current fire catastrophe
- 'We're stepping up': Billionaire Andrew Forrest pledges $70m for bushfire relief and recovery
- Wildlife experts say over a billion animals now dead in NSW bushfires
No comments:
Post a Comment