3,000 fight bush fires around Sydney

Wildfires broke out in forestland around Sydney as high temperatures and gusting winds fanned more than 100 blazes in eastern Australia, officials said today.

Wildfires broke out in forestland around Sydney as high temperatures and gusting winds fanned more than 100 blazes in eastern Australia, officials said today.

About 3,000 firefighters backed by water bombers were battling flames across New South Wales, the country’s most populous, while an estimated 45 wildfires burned out of control.

"These fire conditions are the worst we have had in generations. This is a serious as it gets," said the state’s political leader, Bob Carr, who promised government support to any families who lost their homes.

Australia’s wildfire season normally runs from December through February, but a drought affecting 70% of Australia caused many fires to start burning months ago.

Rural Fire Services spokesman John Winter said fire crews had been sent to new blazes that sprang up on Sunday afternoon in bushland on the suburban fringes of Sydney.

Winter warned that the danger was extreme due to winds gusting up to 25 mph combined with several drought conditions and temperatures hovering around 35C.

"We are beginning to see winds are picking up and unfortunately we are also seeing new fires starting up and being spread very quickly as a result of those winds," the spokesman said.

One fire in the western suburb of Penrith was threatening factories in an industrial area but no homes were yet threatened, he said.

Rural Fire Services chief Phil Koperberg said firefighters from around Australia were being mustered to help their New South Wales colleagues.

"We’re taking advantage of the lull in other states by inviting them to assist us thus allowing some of our very, very stressed fellows to get some rest," he said.

Another fire service spokesman, Cameron Wade, said the worst blazes were raging in rural areas to the north and south of Sydney.

In the Hunter Valley wine district, 75 miles north of Sydney, winds have pushed flames across 151,000 acres near the town of Cessnock. Residents near the fire front were hosing down their homes in case the blaze leapt containment lines set by firefighters, but no evacuations have been ordered.

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