Bushfire crisis: Central Coast braces for more hot weather
The threat of bushfires looms large as the Central Coast braces for another day of sweltering conditions. It comes as police close in on suspected arsonists.
Central Coast
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“Prepare for the worst and hope for the best” — that is the message from firefighters ahead of yet another potentially devastating day with temperatures expected to climb high into the 30s across the Central Coast tomorrow.
It comes as police continue to investigate the cause of a fire which raged through bushland at Charmhaven on New Year’s Eve, destroying one house and several sheds, fences and other property.
The cause of fire is being treated as suspicious but police are keeping details about the probe under wraps for “investigative purposes”.
Veteran National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Rural Fire Service (RFS) incident controller Tom Bagnat said the Charmhaven fire had been downgraded to “patrol” but local crews remained on scene.
“They will continue to patrol and deal with and issues,” he said.
Mr Bagnat said a number of strike teams would be on stand by tomorrow, ready to be “deployed to any outbreak of fire on the coast” and particularly the still smouldering Charmhaven fire ground.
“With the weather conditions predicted for tomorrow and the fire grounds that we have (currently) it obviously creates a heightened level of awareness,” he said.
Mr Bagnat said the Three Mile Fire burning to the west of the coast had been downgraded to `patrol’ for a number of weeks.
“We won’t walk away from any fire grounds completely until we get a large quantity of rain or we are absolutely sure,” he said.
However there appears to be little relief on the immediate horizon with the weather bureau forecasting zero per cent chance of rain on Saturday.
This increases to 20 per cent on Sunday before the coast can expect between 3mm-8mm of rain Monday; which could actually hamper firefighter’s efforts to conduct backburning operations and establish containment lines.
The mercury is tipped to reach 27 degrees at The Entrance tomorrow and 39 degrees at Gosford with some inland parts of the coast to climb into the low 40s.
“Given the weather conditions we’ve had this season we prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” Mr Bagnat said.
“Tomorrow is predicted to be a bad weather day, we will deal with whatever the weather throws at us.”
Fire & Rescue NSW’s Terrigal Brigade felt the full force of an angry Mother Nature when two of its trucks were overrun by fire while responding to an urgent call for assistance.
The brigade was part of Strike Team Golf battling blazes at Nowra on New Year’s Eve when a southerly change saw a rapidly moving fire front engulf their position.
Despite the carnage, the bushfire crisis gripping the state has brought out the best in many people — young and old — with Charmhaven RFS Brigade receiving a heart warming letter and hamper from a young boy named Oliver.
“Thanks for fighting the fire because I was very scared, I want to be a brave fireman one day! From Oliver,” his note read.
Police meanwhile are urging residents to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity in bushland.