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'Here we go again': Australia on high alert as fire season kicks off early

5 minutes to read
Smoke from Australian bushfires turns the sky an eerie yellow over Maitai Bay on the Karikari Peninsula in January. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Smoke from Australian bushfires turns the sky an eerie yellow over Maitai Bay on the Karikari Peninsula in January. Photo / Peter de Graaf

news.com.au
By Natalie Wolfe

Australia's bushfire season has well and truly arrived – something the nation was reminded of over the weekend when a number of blazes quickly burned out of control.

Aussies sweltered through a record-breaking heatwave and battled gale-force winds across parts of the country.

In NSW, November heat records tumbled as most of the state saw temperatures soar above 40C.

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The wild and hot conditions triggered a number of blazes – with 62 grass and bushfires burning in NSW alone on Saturday and Sunday.

The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) is currently dealing with 42 fires, all sitting at advice level.

The bushfires burning across NSW on Monday. Image / RFSS
The bushfires burning across NSW on Monday. Image / RFSS

Speaking at the weekend, NSW Police and Emergency Services Minister David Elliott urged people not to think that the horrors of last fire season couldn't be repeated.

"Here we go again. We have of course seen the first weekend of really significant bushfire activity," Elliott said.

"I want to make sure the message is very, very clear. What we are seeing this weekend is pretty consistent with what we will potentially see over the course of this fire season.

"We cannot fall into a false sense of security. The community out there, unfortunately, thinks after the last season we are not at risk of bushfire.

"The reality is 90 per cent of the state is still untouched by bushfire."

RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers said the wet winter had actually made things more difficult for firefighters, with the months of grass growth triggering "dangerous" conditions.

"It's a very different season," he said.

"What we haven't had for the last few years is grass because we have been in a drought so there's been no grass to obviously grow or burn. That's changed significantly.

Firefighters near Moruya, NSW on January 4. Photo / AP
Firefighters near Moruya, NSW on January 4. Photo / AP

"There is record crops for farmers and that gives an indication of what is growing – particularly west of the ranges.

"These grass fires are quite dangerous so you need to report them as soon as you see the fire."

A bushfire in Northmead, in Sydney's west, came dangerously close to houses, destroying at least one home and requiring waterbombing to bring it under control.

But NSW wasn't the only state to battle bushfires this weekend.

Fraser Island, off the coast of Queensland, was forced to evacuate tourists after a bushfire that has been burning out of control for weeks came dangerously close to its biggest resort.

Kingfisher Bay Resort will close until at least December 14 as dozens of firefighters deal with a blaze now burning less than 4 kilometres from the sprawling property.

A property destroyed by fire in Conjola Park, NSW in January. Photo / Jesse Chinnock
A property destroyed by fire in Conjola Park, NSW in January. Photo / Jesse Chinnock

"We value your loyalty and support during this time, and please note that our reservations team are busy contacting all guests with bookings over the coming days," the resort said.

"Guests will be contacted in order of date of arrival."

The fire, which is believed to have started from an illegal campfire, has been burning since the beginning of October and has destroyed more than 40 per cent of the island's bush.

Waterbombing aircraft attacked the fire, which is now burning on two fronts, over the weekend.

But relief for the firefighters won't come soon, with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting the severe heatwave that NSW and Victoria sweltered through over the weekend will move up to Queensland and worsen in the coming days, with the hottest day likely to be Wednesday.

In South Australia, a total fire ban was declared over the weekend as the state also grappled with a record-breaking heatwave.

Temperature records were "shattered" on Saturday with Marree, in the state's north, seeing the mercury hit a whopping 47.5C.

A watch and act message was issued for a fire burning in Uleybury, less than an hour north of Adelaide, over the weekend as the blaze ripped through the area.

Firefighters had managed to bring things under control by 6pm last night.

On Friday, a rapidly moving grass fire burnt through more than 650ha in Templers before firefighters and an earthmoving machine were able to contain it by the afternoon.

The Australian Seasonal Bushfire Outlook for December 2020 to February 2021, a report compiled by The Bushfire and Natural Hazard Cooperative Research Centre, detailed what kind of summer Aussies could be in for.

The report, released last week, echoed the comments from Commissioner Rogers, saying wetter weather had elevated the bushfire risk.

The main fire risk for Australians will be grass fires in the east of the country and bushfires in the west, the report said.

"Our research shows that everyone needs to be prepared for fire – from the farmer on the land, to holidaymakers, to those who live on the urban fringes of our cities and towns," CRC Research Director Dr John Bates said.

"When the wind is up and the weather is hot, fires will occur right across Australia."