NSW bushfires: At least one home lost as Mt Gospers bushfire breaks containment lines
At least one home was lost and several outlying buildings destroyed when the Gospers Mountain fire broke containment lines and jumped a creek in the Blue Mountains on Sunday night.
NSW
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At least one home was lost and several outlying buildings were destroyed after the Gospers Mountain fire broke lines and jumped a creek in the Blue Mountains on Sunday night.
The NSW Rural Fire Service issued an ‘emergency’ warning for Mount Wilson, Mount Irvine, Mount Tomah, Berambing and Bilpin with residents told to take shelter before fire activity finally reduced early this morning. The fire is now at a watch and act level.
Firefighters battling the monster blaze were faced with a ferocious 17m flame height.
The Gospers Mountain blaze is almost 370,000 hectares in size and has been burning since October 26.
On Sunday afternoon it crossed Bowen Creek, south of Mount Wilson with winds creating spot fires ahead of the main fire front.
One home was engulfed in flames at Mount Wilson and several sheds and outlying buildings were lost at Mount Tomah.
The blaze, which is roughly the size of Greater Sydney, stretches from Lithgow in the west through the Hawkesbury and towards the Central Coast.
The major road that snakes over the Blue Mountains from Richmond, the Bells Line of Road, will be closed until Tuesday to allow for a “massive” 35-kilometre backburn to contain the southern and southwestern edge of the Gospers Mountain fire.
Watch and Act: Green Wattle Ck (Wollondilly LGA). There's been an increase of fire activity on the SE corner of the fire in the area of Buxton. Those in the area should monitor conditions, follow advice of firefighters in the area and enact their bush fire survival plan. #NSWRFS pic.twitter.com/PmfPsvgBGC
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) December 15, 2019
Many of the fires — including the Green Wattle Creek fire threatening suburbs in southwest Sydney such as Oakdale, Werombi and Balmoral — are burning in inaccessible terrain that would make it impossible to access with fire trucks.
For residents in these areas the RFS advises that fire activity is increasing.
“It is too late to leave. Seek shelter as the fire approaches. Protect yourself from the heat of the fire,” the RFS said in a statement on Sunday afternoon.
The agency also advises that winds are creating spot fires ahead of the main fire front.
“This large fire stretches from the Lithgow area in the west, through the Hawkesbury area and towards the Central Coast in the east,” the RFS says.
Watch and Act: Carrot Farm Road, Deepwater (Glen Innes LGA).
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) December 15, 2019
Activity has increased this evening as the fire continues to burn in a NE direction.
Residents in the area should enact their bush fire survival plan. Know what you will do if fire threatens. #nswrfs #nswfires pic.twitter.com/LvTv7l01x2
Total Fire Bans are in place for five areas of NSW on Monday: Far North Coast, Central Ranges, New England, Northern Slopes & North Western. A Total Fire Ban means no fires in the open.
There were 113 bush and grass fires burning around the state on Sunday night with one blaze at an Emergency Warning Level, three fires at Watch and Act and 39 not yet contained.
Some 724 homes, 49 facilities and 1582 outbuildings have been destroyed so far this fire season. Six people have died and 2.7 million hectares have been scorched.
SMOKE TO RETURN AHEAD OF HEATWAVE
by Jack Morphet
Smoke will again choke Sydney this week as fireys try to fight bushfire with fire.
Cooler conditions have seen more than 1600 firefighters across the state working on a massive program of backburning to try to contain the bushfires.
“There will definitely be smoke in Sydney on Sunday and it will get thicker on Monday,” NSW Rural Fire Service spokesman James Morris said.
Sydney is forecast to reach 33C on Thursday while Western suburbs such as Penrith will nudge 44C.
As a result of the remote and rugged terrain, firefighters are having to backburn larger than usual amounts of bushland from the closest accessible vantage points, which are most commonly fire trails or bulldozed fire breaks.
“A lot of the fires burning in very remote and rugged terrain, which is why we need to do large broadacre backburning,” Mr Morris said.
“Favourable conditions have allowed us to backburn since Thursday and we will continue until at least Monday or Tuesday.
“We’re trying to lock these fires in before conditions worsen this week.”
Watch and Act: Bakers Creek Road Fire (Uralla LGA)
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) December 15, 2019
Firefighters are responding to a fire burning in the vicinity of Reynolds Road, Hayfield Mountain. Fire activity is increasing, with residents advised to monitor for spot fires and embers ahead of the main fire. #nswrfs #nswfires pic.twitter.com/razUv6iiox
Ten weeks into the official fire season, with at least another 15 weeks to run, a record amount of bushland has already been burned out.
The RFS has warned the fire season could be extended by two months, as many of the 104 fires burning across the state will need drenching rain to extinguish.
The bush is so dry it would take 150mm of widespread, drenching rain — equivalent to two-and-a-half times more rain than Sydney has seen since October — to return to normal moisture levels.
The bush is so dry, it has also considerably slowed backburning because of a high risk firefighters will lose control.
“We can’t introduce too much fire into the landscape because the risk of the fire spotting is far higher, so we’re having to go slower,” RFS spokesman Ben Shepherd said.