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Australia wildfires: Damage contained by threat remains high

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Wed, 13 Nov 2019, 5:08PM

Australia wildfires: Damage contained by threat remains high

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Wed, 13 Nov 2019, 5:08PM

Forecasters have warned NSW's bushfire risk is not over, and while conditions may have eased from yesterday's scorching highs, there are worrying signs on the horizon.

Temperatures will "increase dramatically once again" next week, in places to above 40C in temperature, bearing down towards the east coast on Tuesday.

Immediate attention, however, turns to southeast Queensland, which is set for another scorching day as the cold front that stoked up fires in NSW heads north.

Brisbane could hit 33C today, and smoke haze is expected to be widespread before the winds arrive in the middle of the day.

Much of the southeast of the state is in the grip of severe fire danger, as is the Darling Downs and Granite Belt.

Cars burnt out in the wake of the fires. Photo / news.com.au

Cars burnt out in the wake of the fires. Photo / news.com.au

Residents north of Rockhampton in the path of a raging bushfire have been warned to prepare to leave as conditions worsen, AAP has reported.

"The fire is expected to have a significant impact on the community," the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said early on Wednesday.

South of the Tweed River, 950 firefighters are on the ground and 200 homes have been destroyed.

Yesterday afternoon, several suburbs of Sydney erupted in flames and 1.1 million hectares of land have been burned across the state.

Today, temperatures in Sydney will top out at 23C, some 15 degrees cooler than yesterday's CBD high of 36.1C.

Residents of Taree on the NSW mid north coast, the epicentre of the worst bushfire damage, can expect highs of 26C.

"The fires will ease back but they will be still be quite substantial on Wednesday, and it will be difficult for firefighters to stop them entirely," Sky News Weather Channel meteorologist Rob Sharpe said.

However, despite the cooler temperatures and lessened winds, there are still two things that are worrying weather watchers.

One is the lack of rain. The second is a another bubble of hot weather, brewing up in Western Australia, that is ready to be flung across the desert at the east coast.

Buildings have been destroyed after fire roared through the area. Photo / news.com.au

Buildings have been destroyed after fire roared through the area. Photo / news.com.au

In terms of rainfall, very little is forecast across Australia.

Meanwhile, more '"leave now" warnings have been issued for Queensland's Toowoomba Region.

Residents in Pechey have been advised to leave as conditions are getting worse.

The fast-moving fire is travelling from Grapetree Road towards Deeth Road, Sewell Road, Parker Road, Bush Road and Misty Mountain Road.

It is currently impacting Parker Road and Sewell Road.

The QFES has warned fire could have on the significant impact on the community.

The QFES has also warned there is a large fire burning in Kilkivan in the vicinity of the Des Simpson Memorial and conditions are getting worse.

The blaze is heading in a south-westerly direction towards Thornside Road and Upper Thornside Road and is likely to impact those areas within 30 minutes.

Residents looking to evacuate should do so now before it is too late to leave.

Residents at Woodgate, south of Bundaberg, are also being told to leave, as a fire burns towards Walkers Point Road.

The fire crews are working to contain the "fast-moving" blaze but may not be able to protect every property.

"Those in the Walkers Point area should evacuate via Walkers Point Road, towards Woodgate Bowls Club, Kangaroo Court," QFES said.

"Residents in the Woodgate township are not required to evacuate at this point in time."

More than 50 homes were damaged or destroyed and 13 firefighters were injured overnight by catastrophic wildfires across Australia's most populous state before the emergency subsided on Wednesday, officials said.

At point on Tuesday, 16 fires raged out of control at emergency level simultaneously across New South Wales, a near record number.

There were no fires burning at emergency level early Wednesday, but rain that would quench the fire danger is not forecast for months. Friday experienced similarly intense fires which killed three residents and destroyed more than 150 homes.

State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she was relieved that the destruction on Tuesday had not been worse. A weeklong state of emergency for New South Wales was declared on Monday because of the fire danger, with Tuesday forecast to be the most dangerous day.

"I have to confess to being hugely relieved this morning that yesterday our amazing volunteers and emergency service personnel withstood the catastrophic conditions and did manage to save life and property," Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said none of the injured firefighters had been seriously hurt.

- text by AP, news.com.au

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