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Smoke haze from bush fires in New South Wales blankets the central business district of Sydney, Australia. Photo: EPA-EFE

Australia fires merge into one massive blaze, threatening Sydney

  • Ten separate bush fires 50km north of Sydney have joined and are too big to be put out, New South Wales firefighters say
  • Australia has been battling wildfires for the last month, blamed on an extended drought, strong wind and arson
Australia
Bush fires fanned by winds combined into a single giant blaze north of Sydney late on Friday, blanketing Australia’s biggest city in hazardous smoke, causing weekend sports games to be cancelled and prompting calls for outdoor workers to stay home.
Fires have killed at least four people and destroyed more than 680 homes across eastern Australia since the start of November, months earlier than the usual summer bush fire season, with the authorities blaming an extended drought, strong wind and suspected arson.

Smoke and flying ash has lingered over Sydney for most of the past week, turning the daytime sky orange, obscuring visibility and prompting commuters to wear breathing masks. Satellite images spread on social media showed the smoke spreading across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand, 2,000km (1,240 miles) away.

A Nasa satellite image showing fires burning near the coast of New South Wales and areas north to the border with Queensland, Australia. Photo: EPA-EFE

“The massive #NSW fires are in some cases just too big to put out at the moment,” wrote the Australian Bureau of Meteorology in a post on its official Twitter account.

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) said in a tweet that “a number of fires in the Hawkesbury, Hunter and Central Coast areas have now joined”. The tweet included a map showing 10 separate fires connecting about 50km north of metropolitan Sydney.

The total area burnt by those fires was around 335,000 hectares, or 830,000 acres, the RFS said.

While nearly 150 blazes were alight across Australia’s east coast, RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said authorities were particularly concerned about the connected fires now at emergency levels around Sydney, the state capital where about 5 million people live.

“They have the potential or are expected to spread further east, which unfortunately is getting into more populated areas, villages, communities, isolated rural areas, and other farming practices and businesses throughout the region,” Fitzsimmons said.

New South Wales firefighters battle a blaze near Mangrove Mountain, north of Sydney. Photo: EPA-EFE

Several fires to the northwest of the city had joined together to create one massive blaze, spreading with hot, dry winds, he said.

About 500 homes in coastal communities around 350km south of Sydney had lost electricity to fire and repair workers were unable to start restoring power until the area was declared safe, energy provider Endeavour Energy said. “Affected customers should consider alternative accommodation until their power is back.”

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Some US and Canadian firefighters had arrived to help out, easing the strain on the exhausted largely volunteer Australian force.

The incident-management and aviation specialists will help ease “fatigue and crew rotations”, said Fitzsimmons.

New South Wales firefighters at the scene of a blaze north of Sydney. Photo: EPA-EFE

Sporting body Cricket NSW urged clubs to consider cancelling weekend games due to poor air quality.

“We appreciate this may mean some finals are not played and players may be disappointed, however the welfare of our cricket communities is our number one priority,” Cricket NSW CEO Lee Germo said in a statement.

Sydney’s air pollution hits record high as bush fires continue to rage

Meanwhile, about 300 animals were evacuated from a wildlife park north of Sydney. Walkabout Wildlife Park said it had shipped out lizards, dingoes, peacocks and marsupials.

“This fire has been doing some crazy things, so we have to be prepared,” general manager Tassin Barnard said.

Pedestrians wear masks as they walk towards the CBD as a haze blankets Sydney. Photo: EPA-EFE

Bush fires are common in Australia, but this year’s fire season has begun much earlier than usual, with temperatures soaring regularly above 40 degrees C (104°F) before the start of the southern summer and high winds scouring the drought-parched landscape.

Australia’s worst bush fires on record destroyed thousands of homes in Victoria in February 2009, killing 173 people and injuring 414 more.

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse

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