Firefighters ride Scenic Railway to protect firelit valley

Firefighters have been riding the southern hemisphere’s steepest passenger railway to protect firelit Jamison Valley.

The Ruined Castle bushfire as seen from the Three Sisters overnight. Photo by Jan Keeley.

Firefighters have been riding the southern hemisphere’s steepest passenger railway to protect the firelit Jamison Valley.

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) duty commander for the Blue Mountains, Bruce Cameron, said firefighters have been using the Scenic Railway to take crews 310 metres down to the bottom to wet down the anchorage.

The Scenic Railway at Scenic World, Katoomba, takes passengers on a 52 degree incline journey. Photo: Bob Barker.

He said it’s a precautionary measure as there’s no “imminent” threat to Scenic World or the cable car, with the nearest fires 2km away.

He said it’s among a raft of strategies being employed by firefighters run ragged monitoring the fireground in and around a bushfire being controlled south of Katoomba at Ruined Castle.

Mr Cameron said FRNSW crews have this summer for the first time employed two Compressed Air Foam Systems (CAFs) to fight fires in the Blue Mountains.

Bruce Cameron, Fire and Rescue NSW Duty Commander, Blue Mountains.

“A CAF is a 9,000-litre tanker with an aerated foam injection system that can be shot from a big water cannon mounted to a bullbar — it allows for a really good knockdown of grass and bush fires,” Mr Cameron said.

As commander of a zone that covers fire-ridden Lithgow and the Hawkesbury, as well as the Blue Mountains, burnout in firefighters is among Mr Cameron’s major concerns.

Scenic World has posted on Facebook that it will be operational again this Saturday. Pictured is its famous scenic aerial cableway. Photo: Bob Barker.

“We’ve had strike forces working around the clock at the Gospers Mountain fire,” Mr Cameron said of the 232,950-hectare fire in the Wollemi National Park area, which has been burning for over a month and is again at ‘emergency’ level.

“Plus, we are attending normal day-to-day house fires, car accidents and chemical spills.”

Firefighters are working to slow the spread of fire in Jamison Valley while aerial firefighters like ‘Gypsy Lady’ (pictured at Narrowneck) continue picking up water from Wentworth Falls Lakes to water bomb affected areas. Photo: Christopher Indyka.

Closer to home, fire activity in Jamison Valley has eased overnight but Rural Fire Services — the lead combat agency for this fire — warns fire activity could increase today due to strong westerly winds and low humidity.

Mr Cameron said it’s been a difficult fire to contain, due to its inaccessibility in the densely forested valley.

Almost 1000 hectares of grass has been burnt since lightning strikes sparked fires at Ruined Castle.

Gypsy Lady seen from Narrowneck, Blue Mountains. Photo: Christopher Indyka.

Aerial firefighters like Gypsy Lady:

• Can hold 9500 litres of water or retardant
• Can be refilled by pumping directly into it through a hose, drafting through a suction hose, or using a skimming tube which can be lowered as the helicopter flies near the surface of a body of water
• Are capable of refilling in 45 seconds!
• Have a fuel capacity of 4,900
• Have an optional front-mounted water cannon that can shoot water horizontally at 1,100 litres per minute
• Can cruise over us at approximately 170 kmph, with a maximum speed of 200 kmph

Source: Blaxland Rural Fire Brigade