Blazes continue in Australia
Source: Agencies |
February 8, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
Firefighters battled two wildfires in Western Australia yesterday, water bombing them from above as they tried to stop their spread. One on the outskirts of Perth destroyed at least 41 homes and left a firefighter injured, authorities said.
The two blazes have razed 16 square kilometers of forested land to the north and southeast of Perth since Saturday, Fire and Emergency Services Authority spokesman Alan Gale said. Several people were treated for smoke inhalation.
One fire in Swan Valley has largely been brought under control, but another in the communities of Roleystone and Kelmscott remained unpredictable in pockets, according to the authority.
In Roleystone and Kelmscott, at least 41 houses were destroyed and another 19 damaged, despite water-bombing by 200 firefighters, the authority's chief operations officer, Craig Hynes, told reporters.
Residents who were evacuated from the path of the blaze on Sunday have not yet been allowed to return to their homes due to the continuing fire danger, Hynes said.
Instead they met in a nearby town yesterday to learn the fate of their homes. Authorities listed addresses and read out damage reports, sometimes breaking the news of "100 percent" destruction to properties.
Farther north, in the Swan Valley district, some 150 firefighters using water-bombing helicopters and trucks had contained another fire early yesterday. There was no property lost there, Gale said.
The Roleystone fire was accidentally started when a man using a power tool in his backyard ignited dry grass with sparks, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority said in a statement.
The other fire began when a tree branch that was blown down by strong winds hit electrical transmission infrastructure, it said.
February is the last month of summer in Australia and also marks the height of both the monsoon season in the tropical north and the riskiest period for wildfires.
The two blazes have razed 16 square kilometers of forested land to the north and southeast of Perth since Saturday, Fire and Emergency Services Authority spokesman Alan Gale said. Several people were treated for smoke inhalation.
One fire in Swan Valley has largely been brought under control, but another in the communities of Roleystone and Kelmscott remained unpredictable in pockets, according to the authority.
In Roleystone and Kelmscott, at least 41 houses were destroyed and another 19 damaged, despite water-bombing by 200 firefighters, the authority's chief operations officer, Craig Hynes, told reporters.
Residents who were evacuated from the path of the blaze on Sunday have not yet been allowed to return to their homes due to the continuing fire danger, Hynes said.
Instead they met in a nearby town yesterday to learn the fate of their homes. Authorities listed addresses and read out damage reports, sometimes breaking the news of "100 percent" destruction to properties.
Farther north, in the Swan Valley district, some 150 firefighters using water-bombing helicopters and trucks had contained another fire early yesterday. There was no property lost there, Gale said.
The Roleystone fire was accidentally started when a man using a power tool in his backyard ignited dry grass with sparks, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority said in a statement.
The other fire began when a tree branch that was blown down by strong winds hit electrical transmission infrastructure, it said.
February is the last month of summer in Australia and also marks the height of both the monsoon season in the tropical north and the riskiest period for wildfires.
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