Aussie crews fight to contain large blazes in New South Wales
Australian firefighters are struggling to contain over a dozen bushfires that have been burning across the southeastern state of New South Wales over the past two days.
On Sunday, a blaze hit the township of Cessnock, in the state’s Hunter region. Thick smoke covered the area and water-bombing planes were recruited in the fire fight.
Also, in the coastal city of Port Stephens, authorities declared a state of emergency as fires burnt close to residential buildings.
According to local media, 17 fires continued to burn across the state on Sunday.
A day earlier, fires burnt through bush lands near the town of Kempsey with no damage to homes reported.
Also on Saturday, The Canberra Times reported that the fires had consumed 490 hectares of forest in the state, prompting authorities to evacuate several residential properties, two schools, and a nursing home.
A fast-moving bushfire broke out in Cranebrook, a suburban area 65 kilometers west of Sydney's central business district.
Police have no clue yet as to the cause of the fire, but have detained three teenagers as suspected arsonists. One of them has been charged with deliberately causing a fire and being reckless as to its spread.
Taking into account the past experiences, authorities in New South Wales have declared a total temporary fire ban on the northern coast.
Bushfires are an annual summer event in Australia. The bushfire season varies according to the region and weather conditions.
In the state of New South Wales, this usually begins in the springtime that starts on September 21 and ends on December 21.
Australia's worst bushfires in February 2009 left 173 people dead, burnt 2,000 houses and destroyed half a million hectares of land.
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