ADF chief apologises for training site blaze

THE head of the ADF has apologised for an exercise gone wrong that sparked the blaze in the NSW Blue Mountains.

A helicopter tackles a blaze near Ulladulla. Pilot David Black died yesterday while helping battle the same blaze. Picture: Anthony Reginato

THE head of the Defence Force has apologised for a training exercise gone wrong that sparked the blaze at the centre of the NSW Blue Mountains fire emergency, destroying three homes and threatening to become a "mega-fire" with disastrous consequences.

The 50,000ha State Mine fire, which started near Lithgow last Wednesday but has menaced towns along the winding Bells Line of Road all the way to the small Hawkesbury valley village of Bilpin, was ignited during a bungled explosives drill at the Marrangaroo army base.

"I do apologise, because it has been identified that this fire was the spark of that mine fire," acting defence chief Air Marshal Mark Binskin said.

He said an internal inquiry would likely lead to changes in the way the military conducted live ordnance exercises.

The concession came as bushfire authorities ramped the warning levels on the State Mine and Mount Victoria fires back up to emergency, and urged residents of two towns near Bilpin to abandon their homes.

Rural Fire Service chief Shane Fitzsimmons warned it was "early days yet" for the settlements at Mount Tomah and Berambing, where residents had been urged to evacuate, and the nearby Mount Wilson and Mount Irvine, where it had been determined it was "too late and dangerous to leave" due to fire having enveloped the only access road.

One of the things firefighters had been fearing -- the State Mine fire crossing to the southern side of Bells Line of Road, where they have established few back-burning defences in recent days -- had occurred. "Many hours are yet to roll out as we see what happens in the Bells Line of Road region," Mr Fitzsimmons said.

Gusting southwesterly winds continued to make conditions too dangerous for all but the largest water-bombing helicopters, the two huge Erickson air-cranes that are now an integral part of the annual NSW bushfire fighting effort.

Another fire was sparked in the lower mountains by a lightning strike overnight, a reminder that the crisis was far from over. West of Newcastle, a major fire in the town of Minmi also continued to be a challenge for firefighters, Mr Fitzsimmons said.

The fire chief described as "so disappointing" the discovery of two eight-year-old boys trying to light a brushfire near the Minmi blaze on Wednesday.

Air Marshal Binskin's apology followed reports that the Marrangaroo training blaze was the third such incident in recent times, with a similar one just days ago at the Cultana army base near Port Augusta in South Australia, and another in August at the Townsville Field Training Area.

Air Marshal Binskin yesterday gave details of the Marrangaroo incident, saying the defence personnel involved included experts in defusing improvised explosive devices who had recently returned from active service.

When the blast that started the fire occurred, he said, they had to retreat due to the presence of live explosives and, after initial efforts to douse the flames, await the arrival of Rural Fire Service volunteers about half an hour later.

By then, the fire could not be contained.