Sydney - Australian authorities ordered
the evacuation of some sparsely populated rural areas of New
South Wales on Sunday as bushfires, fanned by extreme heat and
strong winds, raged across the state, threatening homes and
closing roads.
A heat wave on Australia's east coast saw temperatures hit
records in some parts of the state, creating conditions that
officials said were worse than those preceding Victoria's 2009
"Black Saturday" fires, Australia's worst bush fire event that
killed 173 people.
"This is the worst day we have seen in the history of New
South Wales when it comes to fire danger ratings and fire
conditions," Shane Fitzsimmons, the state's rural fire chief,
told reporters.
The areas hit by fires are hundreds of kilometers from
Sydney, the state capital.
Fitzsimmons said there were unconfirmed reports of homes,
farm sheds and machinery being destroyed by fast-moving fires
breaking containment lines.
There were no reports of injuries, but some firefighters
were suffering from heat-related issues.
By Sunday afternoon, emergency warnings were issued for
five rural areas. People were told to evacuate if they could,
or seek shelter and avoid bush or grassland where it was too
late to leave.
More than 2 000 firefighters, many of them volunteers, were
battling 86 fires across New South Wales on Sunday afternoon,
with 38 of them not under control.
A 13-year-old boy and a 40-year-old man were charged on
Sunday for allegedly starting fires.
Temperatures climbed above 45 degrees Celsius in some
parts. Dry and hot northwesterly winds coming from Australia's
desert centre, some up to 75 kilometres an hour, were fanning
the bushfires.
A southerly wind change associated with a cold front was
forecast to arrive by early evening, the Bureau of Meteorology
said.
Fitzsimmons said the front would eventually offer relief,
but would create volatile conditions as it met the northwesterly
flow.
Since Friday, heat wave conditions caused cancellation of
major sporting events and put pressure on the electricity
grid.
A paper mill, water treatment operations and Australia's
largest aluminum smelter, Tomago, were among businesses halting
operations to conserve energy on Friday.