A fire that threatened Canberra’s southern suburbs was downgraded early yesterday, allowing firefighters to strengthen containment lines and protect residents.
Firefighters battling a large blaze on the Australian capital’s southern flank said that it was no longer at emergency level, as temperatures fell back from heat-wave highs and rain was forecast.
Australian Capital Territory Rural Fire Service Chief Officer Joe Murphy said that crews had worked through the night to contain the fire.
Photo: AP
At one point, the fire service warned residents to “please remain alert, not alarmed,” as they would see flames on the horizon while controlled burns were carried out.
The city last week declared its first state of emergency in nearly two decades in anticipation of a heat wave and predictions that fires could hit the southern suburbs.
Temperatures in Canberra on Saturday passed 41°C, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology reported.
The state of emergency declared on Thursday last week was the first in the Australian Capital Territory, which includes Canberra and some surrounding townships, since 2003, when fires destroyed almost 500 homes.
The main threat came from the Orroral Valley fire, which had burned about 52,000 hectares of mostly remote bushland and linked up with a blaze in New South Wales.
“Crews have worked tirelessly overnight to protect homes and slow the spread of fire, which they will continue to do today with favorable weather,” the New South Wales Rural Fire Service said.
More than 80 fires were still burning across New South Wales and Victoria states.
Storms were forecast to follow the heat wave, bringing rain that could help dampen fires, but also the potential for wild weather, including flash floods.
Extreme weather has battered parts of Australia so far this year, bringing giant hail, flash floods and landslides.
Sydney yesterday was again shrouded in a toxic smoke haze, now an almost daily problem in what had been one of world’s least polluted major cities.
At least 33 people have died and vast swaths of the nation have burned since September last year.
The months-long crisis has sparked renewed calls for the government to take immediate action on climate change, with street protests urging Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to reduce the nation’s reliance on coal.
The bushfire disaster was likely exacerbated by climate change, coming on the back of a crippling drought that turned forests into tinderboxes and allowed blazes to spread out of control, scientists say.
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