Downpours bring relief
- but fires rage on
January 7, 2002
Torrential rain has brought relief to exhausted fire crews in the Australian state of New South Wales, but hundreds more people have been evacuated south of Sydney in areas threatened by a new flare-up.
A combination of soaring temperatures and strong winds led to 1,500 people being evacuated from townships around Shoalhaven.
Firefighters have now moved into the Fisherman's Paradise, Cudmirrah and Berrara townships to wait for the flames, hoping to save individual houses.
The fires, about 320 kilometres (200 miles) south of Sydney, show no signs of abating as winds fan flames towards populated areas.
Authorities were also forced to suspend aircraft water-dropping operations on Monday after a fully laden plane crashed on take-off. The pilot escaped uninjured after ditching the aircraft in water.
In Sydney, firefighters danced and sang in the first heavy rain in 18 days in the region. Up to 40 millimetres of rain fell on the Blue Mountains to the west of Australia's biggest city, where some of the worst fire outbreaks have occurred.
The authorities said the storms had doused many of the bush fires in the state. However, they warned that the downpour was not sufficient to put out the most serious blazes. Weather forecasters are predicting a return to the hot and windy conditions which drove on the fires when they broke out on Christmas Day.
Dry winds
They say temperatures approaching 38 degrees Celsius could return later on Monday along with dry Outback winds that could restart fires.
But Sydney is on its guard. The town has taken delivery of two more American water-dumping helicopters, each capable of dropping 9,000 litres at a time, which will go into service tomorrow.
New South Wales Emergency Services Minister Bob Debus has described the bush fires as the worst in Australia's history.
They have destroyed more than half a million hectares of bush land and have had a devastating impact on the country's native animals, wildlife experts say.
More than 100 homes have been destroyed, with damage now put at about US$36m.
The authorities say more than half the fires were started deliberately and have arrested 26 people - many of them minors - for arson.
Harsh new penalties for arsonists
January 4, 2002
As bushfires continue to rage out of control, the Australian state of New South Wales says it intends to introduce new penalties for arson offenders. Twenty-four people have so far been arrested for arson - 15 of them between the ages of nine and 16.
Under the new rules, children found guilty of arson will be compelled to confront hospital patients with severe burns to see for themselves the full horror of what bush fires can do.
They will have to talk to hospital doctors in what state premier Bob Carr hopes will be a traumatic experience that will force children to change their behaviour.
And they will be forced to help victims pay for the damage.
First casualty
Mr Carr said putting children in prison would be too easy. The new measures were intended to traumatise offenders into changing their behaviour.
The bush fires claimed their first serious casualty on Friday when a firefighter had to be flown to hospital with burns to his feet, legs and hands while battling a blaze in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.
Fourteen firefighters trapped by a wall of flame in the Blue Mountains had a lucky escape when Australia's firefighting super helicopter - dubbed Elvis - came to their rescue.
The fires have destroyed 160 homes leaving an estimated $70m (US$36m) damage bill, well above the 1994 bushfire damage bill of $56m.
Ash from the fires - which are visible from space - has been dropping in New Zealand 2,200km (1,400 miles) away.
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Eye witness Read an eye witness account from Esther Shorter in Nowra
01-01-02 28-12-01
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04-01-02
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Have your say!
Do you have views on this subject? Click on the link below to write to me and share them!
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read on
Getting ready to evacuate
It was like day turning into night
Harsh new penalties for arsonists
Copyright (c) 2000-2001 Sue Kelly