Australian Bushfire Intensifies, Heatwave Advances

Firefighters in the hills east of Adelaide in South Australia raced against time to contain bushfires on Thursday.

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts temperatures well above 40 degrees near Adelaide from Friday through Monday as the heatwave advances east across the continent.

Fires across some 25,000 hectares which have already destroyed 87 homes and killed one person are still raging out of control ten kilometres east of Adelaide’s suburbs despite efforts by more than 200 firefighters over Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Firefighters, most of them unpaid volunteers, conducted strategic burning along the northern sections of the fire. Bulldozers and firefighters using rake hoes built containment lines around unburnt properties in areas close to Adelaide.

South Australian police are warning residents in the Adelaide Hills to leave while they can. Heatwaves can produce dry thunderstorms with lightning but no rain.

“Take action now as this bushfire may threaten your safety. If you are not prepared, leave now and if the path is clear go to a safer place,” police warned on their website.

The heatwave is expected to reach New South Wales on Monday, and firefighters are bracing for megafires in the Blue Mountains an hour’s drive west of Sydney to flare up once again.

Fire conditions are expected to worsen in the afternoons on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, with temperatures up to 43 degrees in the forecast for western Sydney.

The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted that winds may pick up strength to 25 kilometres per hour and shift from the north to the southeast in a cooler change on Tuesday, producing even more dangerous fire conditions, NAN reported.