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Home / World

Lightning hampers firefighters in NSW

AAP
22 Oct, 2013 07:58 PM2 mins to read

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Lightning and slippery conditions have hampered firefighters battling three out-of-control bushfires in the Blue Mountains.

The NSW bushfire emergency is entering its seventh day and there are 59 fires burning across the state, with 18 uncontained.

Four out-of-control fires, three in the Blue Mountains and one at Balmoral in the southern highlands, are at the second highest alert level of watch and act.

The RFS is expecting severe and extreme fire danger throughout the day, with high temperatures and strong winds forecast for large swathes of the state, including the firezones as well as Greater Sydney and the Hunter.

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Firefighters had been hoping to get the upper hand on the major blazes at Lithgow, Mt Victoria and Springwood overnight, but RFS spokesman Andrew Luke told AAP today that the bad weather has hampered efforts.

"We've had rain only as little as two to three millimetres received on the firegrounds, and that's hampered our efforts to backburn," said Mr Luke at RFS headquarters in Sydney.

"It's also meant we've had to remove crews from fire trails because of slippery conditions and to make sure we're not damaging those fire trails.

"What otherwise would have been good news has actually hampered us overnight."

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He said there had also been "significant lightning activity" right across NSW from the central west to the southern tablelands and in the Blue Mountains, but it was too early to say if it had sparked new blazes.

Mr Luke says early weather forecasts indicate the high fire danger conditions predicted for Wednesday will eventuate.

"There's been no change to that," he said.

He said around 700 firefighters had been out battling blazes overnight.

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NSW bushfires: NZ still on standby

22 Oct 04:37 AM
A NSW Rural Fire Service volunteer puts out a spot fire near the Monky Creek Cafe in town of Bell, in the Blue Mountains. Photo / AAP
A NSW Rural Fire Service volunteer puts out a fire near the Monky Creek Cafe in town of Bell, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Photo / AAP
A NSW Rural Fire Service volunteer puts out a fire near the Monky Creek Cafe in town of Bell, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Photo / AAP
A fire burns below the Monky Creek Cafe in town of Bell, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney on Sunday. Photo / AAP
A water bombing helicopter flies near town of Bell, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Photo / AAP
Rural Fire Service volunteers conducting back-burning in the Catherine Hill Bay area near Wyong. Photo / AAP
Smoke bellows from a bushfire burning behind Catherine Hill Bay near Wyong. Photo / AAP
A water bombing helicopter fills up with water from a dam at a golf course, as aircraft continue to fight a bushfire at Winmalee in the Blue Mountains. Photo / AAP
Craig Jones looks over the grounds of the Monky Creek Cafe in town of Bell.The cafe, belonging to his wife, has been under threat from bushfires. Photo / AAP
A lone waratah stands in front of the Monky Creek Cafe in town of Bell, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Photo / AAP
Farmland at Richmond, west of Sydney is seen shrouded in heavy smoke from bush fires burning in the Blue Mountains, Monday, Oct. 21, 2013. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts) NO ARCHIVING
Victorian CFA firefighters help NSW Rural Fire Service crews strengthen containment lines on the Darling Causeway near the township of Bell in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. Photo / AAP
Rural Fire Service volunteers conducting back-burning near Gwandalan in the Wyong district on the Central Coast of NSW. Photo / AAP
The aftermath of Fridays's severe bush fires in the Yellow Rock, Winmalee and Springwood suburbs west of Sydney.  Photo / AAP
A group of Queensland volunteer firefighters, from Closeburn in the Samford Valley, prepare to depart to NSW in Brisbane. Photo / AAP
A outside deck is seen in the back of a burnt down property in the town of Winmalee. Photo / AAP
Catherine comforts her daughter Amy as they return to their home after a devastating bushfire passed through at Winmalle in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. Photo / AAP
NSW RFS firefighters battle a bushfire burning close to homes on Patterson street at Springwood in the Blue Mountains. Photo / AAP

Image 1 of 18: A NSW Rural Fire Service volunteer puts out a spot fire near the Monky Creek Cafe in town of Bell, in the Blue Mountains. Photo / AAP

Read more: Fire and climate change - don't expect a smooth ride

- AAP

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