Series of Emergencynet News Australian Bushfire Reports 12/01/97 to 12/05/97

From: ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Monday, December 1, 1997 Vol. 1 - 335

SYDNEY (EmergencyNet News) - Firefighters in Australia continued to battle more than 175 bushfires on Monday. The biggest fire is said to have burned more than 247,000 acres in the state of South Wales. About 3,000 fire- fighters were working in New South Wales, the worst hit state, while about 40 small fires were being contained in Victoria.

About 215 military personnel were to be assigned on Tuesday to help cut firebreaks north of Sydney. Lightning strikes are said to have sparked the serious forest fires across three states over the past week. Almost 200 forest fires started in Victoria and South Australia states, but most were brought under control with the assistance of the weather and aerial water-bombing.

The biggest blaze is reported to be still out of control. It is located north of the town of Coonabarabran. The perimeter of the fire was said to be now more than 96 miles long. Weather conditions had eased from last week's hot and windy conditions.

From: ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Tuesday, December 2, 1997 Vol. 1 - 336

TWO FIREFIGHTERS KILLED IN AUSTRALIAN BUSHFIRE ...
From the ERRI Watch Center

SYDNEY (EmergencyNet News) - More than 400 bushfires are now burning across Australia's eastern seaboard, some are now reaching homes and are forcing evacuations in Sydney's outer suburbs. The fires are being fanned by high temperatures and winds, and officials predicted "horrific" conditions later in the week that will make the fires even worse than those that ringed Sydney in 1994, killing four people and destroying more than 100 homes.

New South Wales state Bush Fire Services Commissioner Phil Koperberg said, "There would be well in excess of 200 uncontrolled fires and perhaps another 200 that we are attempting to deploy resources to keep contained. Late morning there was a gradual increase in wind strength and now we have the most horrendous fire conditions, which spread across all of the fire areas."

Two firefighters were killed battling blazes in a heavily wooded area ringing rural Lithgow, which is located about 60 miles northwest of Sydney.

An EMS spokesman said,"It is believed the two were overcome by smoke and burned."

The worst fire was said to be 100 miles in circumference at Coonabarabran, located about 250 miles northwest of Sydney, and had destroyed an estimated 320,000 acres.

Koperberg said of the Coonabarabran fire, "The latest reports are that they're experiencing firestorms and fire spotting aircraft have reported flames above the aircraft."

At Menai in Sydney's southern outskirts, police said fire destroyed at least 12 homes and damaged a police station. Media reports said between a dozen and 40 homes in Menai had been destroyed.

Koperberg said the Menai fire had started as a small fire at the outskirts of a nearby army base. Attempts to fight the blaze had been hampered because the base contained a firing range with unexploded ordnance.

More than 200 armed forces personnel battled another fire northwest of Sydney. Special emergency powers were invoked as officials expected to fight the fires through the rest of the week. About 90 extra fire trucks and several hundred personnel were called in from the neighboring states of Victoria and Queensland.

Many of the fires had been burning for several days after being started by lightning strikes. Australia suffers bush fires every summer.

From: ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Wednesday, December 3, 1997 Vol. 1 - 337

ASIA AND PACIFIC

COOLER WEATHER HELPS AUSTRALIAN FIREFIGHTERS
From the ERRI Watch Center

SYDNEY (EmergencyNet News) - Cooler weather is said to have helped firefighters as they continued to battle hundreds of bushfires that are threatening large areas of southeastern Australia, including the southern outskirts of Sydney. Two rural areas northwest of Sydney, including one where two firefighters were burned to death on Tuesday, were still under burning as 5,000 firefighters battled about 200 blazes across the state of New South Wales.

Rural Fire Services Commissioner Phil Koperberg said, "The cooler conditions are obviously favoring the firefighting effort, but it is still dry and it is still windy in many parts of the state. We continue to have a number of very large fires, the containment of which is not being aided and abetted by the cooler conditions."

Koperberg also said that firefighters were building a huge firebreak about 60 miles long in an attempt to contain the largest fire burning on a 100- mile front near Coonabarabran and Pilliga in the NSW's far northwest. The nearby rural centers of Narrabri and Boggabriin were under threat.

Also of concern to firefighters were fires that remained around Lithgow, located about 60 miles northwest of Sydney. Koperberg said it was possible the fires near Lithgow could turn towards the Blue Mountains, a small range that forms a natural geographical border between Sydney's sprawling outer west and the vast interior of the state.

Early on Wednesdaym 50 fire crews from the neighboring state of Victoria arrived and were immediately deployed to the fires at Lithgow and Menai in Sydney's south, while about 40 aircraft were being used for reconnaissance and to fight fires.

From: ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Thursday, December 4, 1997 Vol. 1 - 338

ASIA AND PACIFIC

AUSTRALIAN FIREFIGHTERS PREPARING FOR "BAD" WEEKEND ...
From the ERRI Watch Center

SYDNEY (EmergencyNet News) - Australian firefighters are preparing for worsening weather conditions as they battle extremely large bushfires in the southeast of the country. About 10,000 firefighters, including 6,000 already fighting fires, were put on alert ahead of an expected return of high temperatures and strong winds on Friday or Saturday.

Rural Fire Service Commissioner (RFS) Phil Koperberg said that Australian firefighters are battling 173 bushfires across a wide area of New South Wales (NSW) state. About 60 of the fires are burning out of control and some have been burning for eight days after they were started by lightning strikes last week.

Twelve homes have been destroyed by flames in Menai on Sydney's southern outskirts as more than 400 fires flared across the state on Tuesday. More than one million acres of land have been burned.

Meteorologists are forecasting temperatures of up to 104 degrees (F) and strong winds on Friday or Saturday. Koperberg said, "These are particularly adverse conditions under current circumstances."

The largest fires were burning on two wide fronts near Coonabarabran, which is located about 220 miles northwest of Sydney, where more than 445,000 acres of bushland has been burned.

Large fires were also burning in inaccessible woodland in the Hawkesbury River and Hunter Valley regions, located between 25-95 miles north of Sydney. The RFS said that fires that reached out of nearby bushland into the outer Sydney suburb of Menai on Tuesday were being brought under control, the RFS said.

There are still several fires around Lithgow and firefighters were attempting to stop them from joining up with other fires in the Blue Mountains on the far western outskirts of Sydney.

From: ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Friday, December 5, 1997 Vol. 1 - 339

SYDNEY (EmergencyNet News) - Welcome rain fell along Australia's eastern seaboard on Friday and brought relief to thousands of weary firefighters who are battling hundreds of bushfires. But fire officials said that the relief could be short-lived. Rain fell along the length of a huge fire, which was burning out of control on a 170 mile perimeter. The blaze has burned 625,000 acres near Coonabarabran.

Heavy rain was also fell in the Hunter Valley, located about 75 miles north of Sydney, and site of a series of serious bushfires. Sydney firefighters said sporadic rain had brought all fires on the city's outskirts under control.

Meteorologists are predicting more rain, but warned that forecast thunder- storms may arrive with lightning and no rain. Lightning has been blamed for many of the bushfires now burning out of control.

A total of 10,000 firefighters are on alert, with 4,000 of those already fighting fires stretching the entire length of Australia's most populous state New South Wales.

(c) Copyright, EmergencyNet NEWS Service, 1997. All Rights Reserved. Redistribution without permission is prohibited by law.

The ERRI EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT is a subscription publication of the EmergencyNet NEWS Service, which is a part of the Chicago-based Emergency Response and Research Institute. This publication specializes in Law Enforcement/Fire/EMS/Disaster and Medical Issues.

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