Oct 23, 2013

Firefighters in Australia continued their efforts Wednesday to contain massive wildfires raging across New South Wales. As the afternoon, around 60 blazes were still burning in the Blue Mountains, a suburban area of west of Sydney.

: A helicopter drops water on a bushfire approaching homes near the Blue Mountains suburb of Blackheath, located around 43 miles west of Sydney, October 23, 2013. A state of emergency has been declared in the Australian state of New South Wales, as bushfires continue to burn west of Sydney, and weather conditions expected to worsen over the coming days. Around 60 fires are still burning across the state. (David Gray/Reuters)

: A helicopter drops water to douse bushfires along the Linksview Road near Faulconbridge in the Blue Mountains on October 23, 2013. Firefighters in Australia battled hot, dry winds and soaring temperatures on October 23 as new blazes began breaking out in a week-long bushfire disaster that shows no signs of easing. (Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images)

: A female Rural Fire Service (RFS) firefighter walks through a burnt area after trying to extinguish a small fire approaching homes near the Blue Mountains suburb of Blackheath, located around 43 miles west of Sydney, October 23, 2013. A state of emergency has been declared in the Australian state of New South Wales, as bushfires continue to burn west of Sydney, and weather conditions expected to worsen over the coming days. Around 60 fires are still burning across the state. (David Gray/Reuters)

: Rural Fire Service (RFS) firefighters tries to extinguish a small fire approaching homes near the Blue Mountains suburb of Blackheath, located around 43 miles west of Sydney, October 23, 2013. A state of emergency has been declared in the Australian state of New South Wales, as bushfires continue to burn west of Sydney and weather conditions expected to worsen over the coming days. Around 60 fires are still burning across the state. (Reuters Photo)

: A volunteer firefighter holds onto his helmet in the strong winds as he surveys the damage in the Mt. York fire area near Mt. Victoria in the Blue Mountains, roughly 150 kms west of Sydney, on October 23, 2013. As the crisis entered its seventh day, at least 65 fires were raging across the state of New South Wales with 18 of them uncontained and warnings again issued for people to leave their homes or be extra vigilant. (William West/AFP/Getty Images)

: A helicopter drops water on a fire approaching homes near the Blue Mountains suburb of Blackheath, located around 43 miles west of Sydney, October 23, 2013. A state of emergency has been declared in the Australian state of New South Wales, as bushfires continue to burn west of Sydney and weather conditions expected to worsen over the coming days. Around 60 fires are still burning across the state. (David Gray/Reuters)

: A rescue helicopter flies through the smoke following a bush fire near Faulconbridge in the Blue Mountains on October 23, 2013. Firefighters in Australia battled hot, dry winds and soaring temperatures as new blazes began breaking out in a week-long bushfire disaster that shows no signs of easing. As the crisis entered its seventh day, at least 65 fires were raging across the state of New South Wales with 18 of them uncontained and warnings again issued for people to leave their homes or be extra vigilant. (Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images)

: A Rural Fire Service (RFS) firefighter tries to extinguish a small fire approaching homes near the Blue Mountains suburb of Blackheath, located around 43 miles west of Sydney, October 23, 2013. A state of emergency has been declared in the Australian state of New South Wales, as bushfires continue to burn west of Sydney and weather conditions expected to worsen over the coming days. Around 60 fires are still burning across the state. (David Gray/Reuters)

: Volunteer firefighters look out over the escarpment from the Mt. York fire area near Mt. Victoria in the Blue Mountains, roughly 150 kilometers west of Sydney, on October 23, 2013. As the crisis entered its seventh day, at least 65 fires were raging across the state of New South Wales with 18 of them uncontained and warnings again issued for people to leave their homes or be extra vigilant. (William West/AFP/Getty Images)

: Local residents watch the containment of fires from the balcony on a house at Faulconbridge in the Blue Mountains on October 22, 2013. Firefighters on October 22 deliberately merged two major blazes in southeastern Australia in a desperate battle to manage the advancing infernos as weather conditions worsen. (William West/AFP/Getty Images)

: A helicopter drops water on a fire approaching homes near the Blue Mountains suburb of Blackheath, located around 43 miles west of Sydney, October 23, 2013. A state of emergency has been declared in the Australian state of New South Wales, as bushfires continue to burn west of Sydney and weather conditions expected to worsen over the coming days. Around 60 fires are still burning across the state. (David Gray/Reuters)

: A firefighter hoses a tree as teams work to contain fires from a resident’s backyard at Faulconbridge in the Blue Mountains on October 22, 2013. Firefighters on October 22 deliberately merged two major blazes in southeastern Australia in a desperate battle to manage the advancing infernos as weather conditions worsen. (William West/AFP/Getty Images)

: Policewoman Tegan Mobbs looks at the remains of her home in Yellow Rock in the Blue Mountains on October 22, 2013, after it was destroyed in a firestorm which tore through the area. The granite slabs that were once a kitchen bench were still warm after five days and a chimneystack and fireplace are all that remain upright in the ruins of what was once a five-bedroom home on a picturesque five-acre bush block in Yellow Rock, west of Sydney. (William West/AFP/Getty Images)

: A Rural Fire Service firefighter sprays water onto a small fire burning near a home in the Blue Mountains suburb of Faulconbridge, located around 50 miles west of Sydney, October 22, 2013. Australian firefighters worked desperately on Tuesday to contain massive wildfires burning in mountains west of Sydney, but with forecasts of high winds and dangerously hot weather, authorities feared more houses and lives would be lost. (John Donegan/ABC/Reuters)

: A statue stands outside a burnt out home in Winmalee in the Blue Mountains on October 22, 2013. Firefighters on October 22 deliberately merged two major blazes in southeastern Australia in a desperate attempt to manage the advancing infernos ahead of weather conditions that authorities warn will be “as bad as it gets”. (Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images)

: Firefighters work to contain fires from a resident’s backyard at Faulconbridge in the Blue Mountains on October 22, 2013. Firefighters on October 22 deliberately merged two major blazes in southeastern Australia in a desperate battle to manage the advancing infernos as weather conditions worsen. (William West/AFP/Getty Images)

: The remains of a possum can be seen on the edge of a water tank after a bushfire passed through the area in the Blue Mountains suburb of Winmalee, located around 70 km west of Sydney, October 21, 2013. More than 200 homes have been destroyed since last Thursday as scores of fires burned through thousands of hectares of bush, farms and rural communities outside Sydney. A state of emergency has been declared in New South Wales (NSW) state, Australia’s most populous. Forecasts for a return of hot, windy weather later this week has raised fears that three of the most dangerous blazes in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney could join up to form a massive “mega-fire”, according to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service. (David Gray/Reuters)

: A firefighter monitors a back burn near Mount Victoria in the Blue Mountains on October 21, 2013, as volunteer fire brigades race to tame an enormous blaze, with officials warning it could merge with others to create a “mega-fire” if weather conditions worsen. Crews have been battling fires that flared in high winds and searing heat across the state of New South Wales last week with more than 200 homes so far destroyed and many others damaged. (William West/AFP/Getty Images)

: A home destroyed by bushfire as seen on October 21, 2013 in Yellow Rock, Australia. One man has died and hundreds of properties have been destroyed in bushfires that are devastating the Blue Mountains and Central Coast regions of New South Wales. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)

: A general view of play during the Ryobi Cup cricket match between the South Australian Redbacks and the Western Australia Warriors at Drummoyne Oval on October 17, 2013 in Sydney, Australia. Sydney is shrouded in a haze of smoke as brushfires rage in the western Sydney suburbs of Springwood, Winmalee and Lithgow. (Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

: Smoke and ash from wildfires burning across the state of New South Wales blankets the Sydney city skyline on October 17, 2013. Seven major blazes were burning across the state, fanned by high, erratic winds in unseasonably warm 34 Celsius (93 Fahrenheit) weather, with infernos at Springwood and Lithgow in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney sending thick plumes of smoke and ash across the city. (Greg Wood/AFP/Getty Images)

Australians told to flee homes as hot winds fan Sydney fire threat
Reuters
Oct. 22, 2013

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Thousands of Australians were told to evacuate their homes on Wednesday as dry winds created the conditions for a firestorm in mountainous bushland outside Sydney, where firefighters have battled for days to bring dozens of wildfires under control.

More than 200 homes have been destroyed in New South Wales (NSW) state since last Thursday, when bushfires tore through scattered communities to Sydney’s south and west, razing entire streets. One man died after suffering a heart attack trying to protect his home.

Wednesday’s fire conditions were shaping up to be the worst so far in the state’s bushfire crisis, Rural Fire Service (RFS) Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.

“If you don’t have a plan, let me give you one,” NSW Emergency Minister Michael Gallacher said. “Get into the car, drive down to the city metropolitan area and let the firefighters do what they can do to protect the community, should this turn for the worse.”

Australian brushfires threaten small towns around Sydney

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