After Short Christmas Respite, NSW Fires Will Rev Up Into New Year; Temps Up To 111F
New South Wales firefighters are gearing up for hotter, drier and windier conditions next week, after a Christmas reprieve.
Meanwhile the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, has repeated his calls for the federal government to compensate the thousands of volunteer firefighters who have been battling the fires for months, after a Coalition minister questioned the sustainability of the volunteer model.
On Saturday morning there were more than 70 fires burning across the state, with eight out of control and about 23 being controlled, as the unprecedented bushfire crisis continued. Saturday began with no fires above advice level after more than 1,500 firefighters in the field took advantage of milder conditions over the Christmas week to strengthen containment lines and prepare for a forthcoming heatwave and high fire danger. However, on Saturday afternoon the Currowan fire on the south coast was upgraded to a watch and act, with a significant increase of fire activity to the west of Nelligen.
The Green Wattle Creek fire in the southern highlands is also among those still out of control, according to the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS), but the Gospers Mountain “megafire” and the nearby Grose Valley fire, to the north-west and west of Sydney, are listed as being controlled. At least three fires remain burning in South Australia at advice level, including two on Kangaroo Island, at Bunbury, and at Cudlee Creek where there have been flare-ups in recent days.
EDIT
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/dec/28/australian-bushfires-out-of-control-as-heatwave-expected-to-peak-on-new-years-eve
