LaZy_KoReAn
DrunkenMC
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- 2004
Firefighters save northern suburbs homes
Almost 400 firefighters remained at the ready yesterday in case a blaze, which initially threatened homes in Sydney's north, was reignited.
Aerial water bombing operations continued throughout the morning, with eight aircraft assisting about 60 ground tankers to focus primarily on back-burning in areas of the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.
The Rural Fire Service's main strike weapon, the 9000-litre capacity Erickson Air-Crane, was also on standby.
Yet, unless the unforseen happens, the fire that had managed to blacken more than 800 hectares of parkland had been brought under control, the RFS said.
Residents surrounding the Chase, the city's Pittwater foreshore, Terrey Hills and Duffys Forest should remain vigilant, the service said.
However, the blaze was not threatening those areas directly, mainly due to moderating winds, increased humidity and a mass back-burning effort through Friday night.
RFS Commissioner Phil Koperberg declared the emergency over by lunchtime, saying the easier weather and the work done by his crews and residents had saved the day.
"A good save all round," Mr Koperberg said from the Terrey Hills fire control centre.
"This fire is now largely contained due to the very good work of the firefighters."
Mr Koperberg said there were about 380 firefighters still on the ground, who would remain on watch for most of the weekend.
He expected a small section of the fire to be contained by midnight at the latest.
"By then we should be able to declare this fire contained," he said.
The pre-emptive back-burn under difficult conditions during the previous two days had prevented major loss, although he said hundreds of funnel-web spiders forced out of the undergrowth had "scared the hell out of an arachnophobe like me".
The western side of Ku-ring-gai Chase, including Bobbin Head, was reopened yesterday. However, the eastern section of the park remained closed due to suspect road conditions. The next three to four days, with cooler conditions prevailing and the possibility of rain on Monday and Tuesday, would further lighten the firefighters' load, Mr Koperberg said.
Yet by midweek, a return to adverse conditions was on the cards, with higher temperatures and strengthening north-west winds.
"The focus will be to ensure that the fires we have dealt with in the past few days remain totally contained," he said.
Mr Koperberg was joined by Premier Bob Carr and Opposition Leader John Brogden, a Cottage Point patrol volunteer member who spent 12 hours from Friday night until Saturday morning on duty.
Mr Brogden echoed Mr Koperberg's optimism but reminded the public that this fire had arrived almost 10 years to the day since a major blaze tore through the Warringah-Pittwater area.
"We haven't had a major bushfire here for many years and I guess we've been due for one," he said.
Mr Brogden had his own brush with danger yesterday morning, "running blind 60 metres into some bush to put out a fire", after some embers flared up near Cottage Point.
"It's a hell of a job, it's a bugger of a thing to go in the middle of the bush to put out a couple of embers, but you know it's important because if you don't get that fire out you run the risk of it spreading further," he said.
The Premier declared that the state was "indebted again to the huge volunteer army that saves NSW".
"There have been no losses," he said. "No losses of lives, no losses of property."
An investigation into the cause of the blaze was continuing, the RFS said. Suspicions are that it was deliberately lit.
Mr Koperberg said a 600-hectare fire at Wilton, between Picton and Appin to Sydney's south-west, had also all but been snuffed out by the work of 90 crews, 20 tankers and six aircraft during the weekend.
A 2000-hectare fire in the Goonoo forest, north of Dubbo in the state's west, was also fully secured.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/10/1073437521046.html
Anyone live around there? Shit, this must of been massive
Almost 400 firefighters remained at the ready yesterday in case a blaze, which initially threatened homes in Sydney's north, was reignited.
Aerial water bombing operations continued throughout the morning, with eight aircraft assisting about 60 ground tankers to focus primarily on back-burning in areas of the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.
The Rural Fire Service's main strike weapon, the 9000-litre capacity Erickson Air-Crane, was also on standby.
Yet, unless the unforseen happens, the fire that had managed to blacken more than 800 hectares of parkland had been brought under control, the RFS said.
Residents surrounding the Chase, the city's Pittwater foreshore, Terrey Hills and Duffys Forest should remain vigilant, the service said.
However, the blaze was not threatening those areas directly, mainly due to moderating winds, increased humidity and a mass back-burning effort through Friday night.
RFS Commissioner Phil Koperberg declared the emergency over by lunchtime, saying the easier weather and the work done by his crews and residents had saved the day.
"A good save all round," Mr Koperberg said from the Terrey Hills fire control centre.
"This fire is now largely contained due to the very good work of the firefighters."
Mr Koperberg said there were about 380 firefighters still on the ground, who would remain on watch for most of the weekend.
He expected a small section of the fire to be contained by midnight at the latest.
"By then we should be able to declare this fire contained," he said.
The pre-emptive back-burn under difficult conditions during the previous two days had prevented major loss, although he said hundreds of funnel-web spiders forced out of the undergrowth had "scared the hell out of an arachnophobe like me".
The western side of Ku-ring-gai Chase, including Bobbin Head, was reopened yesterday. However, the eastern section of the park remained closed due to suspect road conditions. The next three to four days, with cooler conditions prevailing and the possibility of rain on Monday and Tuesday, would further lighten the firefighters' load, Mr Koperberg said.
Yet by midweek, a return to adverse conditions was on the cards, with higher temperatures and strengthening north-west winds.
"The focus will be to ensure that the fires we have dealt with in the past few days remain totally contained," he said.
Mr Koperberg was joined by Premier Bob Carr and Opposition Leader John Brogden, a Cottage Point patrol volunteer member who spent 12 hours from Friday night until Saturday morning on duty.
Mr Brogden echoed Mr Koperberg's optimism but reminded the public that this fire had arrived almost 10 years to the day since a major blaze tore through the Warringah-Pittwater area.
"We haven't had a major bushfire here for many years and I guess we've been due for one," he said.
Mr Brogden had his own brush with danger yesterday morning, "running blind 60 metres into some bush to put out a fire", after some embers flared up near Cottage Point.
"It's a hell of a job, it's a bugger of a thing to go in the middle of the bush to put out a couple of embers, but you know it's important because if you don't get that fire out you run the risk of it spreading further," he said.
The Premier declared that the state was "indebted again to the huge volunteer army that saves NSW".
"There have been no losses," he said. "No losses of lives, no losses of property."
An investigation into the cause of the blaze was continuing, the RFS said. Suspicions are that it was deliberately lit.
Mr Koperberg said a 600-hectare fire at Wilton, between Picton and Appin to Sydney's south-west, had also all but been snuffed out by the work of 90 crews, 20 tankers and six aircraft during the weekend.
A 2000-hectare fire in the Goonoo forest, north of Dubbo in the state's west, was also fully secured.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/10/1073437521046.html
Anyone live around there? Shit, this must of been massive
