AUSTRALIA: FIREFIGHTERS AND HOMEOWNERS BATTLE BUSHFIRES IN SYDNEY AS FIRES RUSH TOWARDS HOMES
Record ID:
645756
AUSTRALIA: FIREFIGHTERS AND HOMEOWNERS BATTLE BUSHFIRES IN SYDNEY AS FIRES RUSH TOWARDS HOMES
- Title: AUSTRALIA: FIREFIGHTERS AND HOMEOWNERS BATTLE BUSHFIRES IN SYDNEY AS FIRES RUSH TOWARDS HOMES
- Date: 5th December 2002
- Summary: (W3)SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (DECEMBER 5, 2002) (REUTERS) LV/SLV BURNT OUT HOUSE / CARS (3 SHOTS) SV BURNT SIGN READING "He who plants a garden plants happiness" SLV BURNT OUT HOUSE MCU (English) PAIGE DICKENSEN WHO LIVED IN HOUSE SAYING: "Well I wouldn't say it was a good feeling, yeah it is quite devastating." GV BLACK SMOKE RISING ABOVE HOUSE LV/SLV MAN ON ROOF HOSING DOWN HOUSE (2 SHOTS) SLV FIRE CREW DRIVING DOWN ROAD WITH SIREN ON LV MAN HOSING DOWN ROOF SLV FAMILY PACKING BELONGINGS INTO CAR LV WATER BOMBING HELICOPTER THROUGH SMOKE SLV PEOPLE EVACUATING SLV MAN HOSING DOWN HOUSE WITH WATER FROM POOL CU SPRINKLER ON ROOF MCU (English) UNIDENTIFIED MAN REPLYING TO QUESTION ABOUT HOW LONG HE WILL STAY, SAYING: "Well as long as practical I don't want to be stupid but, you know if an ember gets underneath the roof they (firemen) can't do anything about it and if they hose it it will be too late from the outside so every five or ten minutes I'm going upstairs and looking under the roof." CU BURNING TREE LV EMERGENCY SERVICE VEHICLE REVERSING AWAY FROM FIRE
- Embargoed: 20th December 2002 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
- Country: Australia
- Topics: Disasters,Environment,General
- Reuters ID: LVA7TJ21P4EIPB2LY0AUM7SBVT4F
- Story Text: Thousands of firefighters and homeowners armed with garden hoses have battled bushfires in Sydney as fires rushed towards homes and helicopters flew into the smoke dumping tonnes of water on flames.
Thick black smoke billowed over Sydney for a second day on Thursday (December 5) as dozens of fierce bushfires roared through semi-rural suburbs of Australia's largest city, destroying at least 20 homes, and leaving one man dead.
Strong winds bringing dry air from the outback fanned the raging flames, threatening to make true fears that this year's drought will see the island continent of 20 million suffer its worst bushfire season.
The gusty conditions and temperatures of around 30 Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) saw 60 fires that began on Wednesday suddenly flare up again, stretching firefighting resources to the maximum.
In the northern suburb of Glenorie, many returned home to find little left of their houses.
Paige Dickensen whose family home burned to the ground yesterday said it was amazing how quickly it was gone, and described it "as devastating"
Fifteen houses were burnt down to mounds of blackened rubble overnight and some residents on Thursday hosed down buildings, while others packed their most valued possessions -- photo albums, sports trophies and teddy bears -- in their cars and fled.
James Calcondas and his American wife Donna pumped water from a swimming pool to dampen the roof and walls of their home.
He said he would stay, "as long as practical, I don't want to be stupid but, you know if an ember gets underneath the roof they (firemen) can't do anything about it and if they hose it it will be too late from the outside so every five or ten minutes I'm going upstairs and looking under the roof."
Calcondas had wet towels wrapped around his shoulders and face as white smoke drifted in from the surrounding bush.
Helicopters roared unseen overhead while firefighters waited at the Calcondas household, a declared "hot spot"
perched on a ridge, for a wall of fire racing through a valley below to reach them. An eerie orange-yellow glow shone through the dark smoke.
More fires were threatening homes south of Sydney while a new fire flared up in the nearby Blue Mountains on Thursday.
In the grip of one of the worst droughts in a century, which has turned already fire-prone bushland into a tinder box, Australia is resigned to a terrible bush fire season.
Last Christmas a wall of flames ringed Sydney, a city of four million people, and the fire service has been warning since the first fires flared up in the winter month of July that this year could be far worse.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard offered the services of the armed forces to help state authorities in New South Wales cope with the fire emergency. The army is already busy battling blazes at its main Sydney barracks.
At least 30 of the fires began almost simultaneously, raising suspicions of arson, while others may have been sparked by discarded cigarette butts, local officials said.
Fires are natural to the arid bush, with December and January usually the worst months. Some native plants depend on the heat of flames to crack open their seeds. But urban sprawl has blurred the barrier between metropolitan Australia and the outback.
The fires last Christmas burned through 770,000 hectares (1.9 million acres) and destroyed 109 houses around Sydney.
By end-November this year, 470,000 hectares (1.16 million acres) in New South Wales state had already been scorched. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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