New South Wales Rural Fire Service inspector ben shepherd says while conditions have eased the extent of the damage from the fire isn't yet known.
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00:00Further into this evening, we have seen those conditions ease and now firefighters have
00:06really got the upper hand.
00:07As a result, we've seen that fire now drop back to an advice level.
00:11So look, that is some really good news.
00:13But now will be our opportunity really to take stock on that fire ground, try and work
00:17out exactly what has been lost.
00:19As you just mentioned, there has been some damage to some sheds and some infrastructure
00:22in that area.
00:23We just want to double check as well that it did come very close to a number of homes.
00:27But look, easing conditions into this evening will further help firefighters.
00:30But look, a very difficult afternoon.
00:34Some very, very strong winds right from this morning on the south coast coming all the
00:37way up and through Sydney, gusts in excess of 100 kilometres an hour or more in some
00:40areas.
00:41So it has been a problematic day for us.
00:43Yeah, we're just seeing some of those images from this blaze this afternoon.
00:47It was pretty intense, huh?
00:49Yeah, look, those winds definitely drove that fire through some grassland areas in particular.
00:54I think the thing that's in our favour is that whilst we're still in winter, some of
00:58those grasslands aren't completely cured, so not completely dry at this stage.
01:02So that was one thing in our favour.
01:05But look, there's no doubt that those strong winds did definitely whip up that flames,
01:09push it along some major roads in that area.
01:11It went on to actually impact on roads.
01:13There was a number of emergency alerts issued to homes to tell people in those homes to
01:18stay where they are.
01:19But fortunately, in this evening, we are seeing conditions now ease.
01:23We'll start to get on control a couple of these fires.
01:25More than 40 burning across New South Wales at the moment.
01:28But thankfully, all fires are now at advice.
01:31And can you tell us anything at all about what appears to have burnt in that blaze in
01:35South West Sydney?
01:36It was kind of a depot for amusement park rides?
01:39Yeah, look, it was some carnival equipment that has been stored on that property.
01:44There were a number of sheds.
01:45I'm not sure what was inside those sheds.
01:47But look, that fire started so quickly, it moved towards those properties.
01:50There was a concentration on some homes in the area as well that firefighters worked
01:54to protect.
01:55It was a great effort both by Fire and Rescue and Rural Fire Service to not see that fire
01:59spread any further along into homes.
02:02So look, there was some real concerns for a number of properties in that area.
02:06But thankfully, I think the main thing is there's been no reported serious injuries,
02:10no reported deaths.
02:11And whilst there has been unfortunately some property damaged, I think the main thing is
02:15that we haven't seen anyone seriously injured.
02:17Is it pretty unusual to see a blaze at emergency level in winter?
02:23Yeah, look, it's not unusual at this time of year to see quite strong winds and some
02:27westerly winds.
02:29I think that it is important for us to note that fires can occur at any time of the year.
02:34I think that what has been a little bit different has actually been the fact that we have got
02:39these winds in winter and these high temperatures in winter.
02:43And also the last three years have been incredibly wet in and around places like Sydney.
02:47So we haven't seen that level of fire activity.
02:49So it needs to act as a wake up call for all of us.
02:52We're approaching the bushfire danger period.
02:54We're approaching the fire season.
02:55We need to make sure that we're all prepared for any fires that may start and make sure
02:59that we plan accordingly.
03:00And how are the coming days looking?
03:02Yeah, look, a little bit more favourable conditions tomorrow.
03:05Friday, it looks like there's another spike in the conditions once again through places
03:09like the Illawarra and Sydney.
03:11Then towards the weekend, we should start to see conditions ease a little bit, especially
03:14in and around Sydney.
03:16Now, what we need to actually start doing is looking at opportunities also to conduct
03:19some very, very important hazard reduction work.
03:21So we are seeing under these weather conditions, the bush really start to dry out.
03:25It's starting to become favourable, obviously, for those hazard reduction works.
03:28But we need to allow these winds to die down before we try and actually do any of that
03:32work, because we are behind.
03:34We are a long way behind on this hazard reduction work that we need to try and complete across
03:38spring before things become very hot, too windy and too dangerous.
03:42And what is the forecast for this coming fire season?
03:46After several years, a fair way back, there were really, really bad fires.
03:52It feels like for New South Wales, at least, they haven't been too intense in the last
03:57four years or so.
04:00How's this next season looking?
04:03Yeah, look, it really depends on where you are in the state.
04:06Last fire season, we did see some 200,000, 300,000 hectares that was burned, but primarily
04:10it was up in the north of the state.
04:12It was around 10 afield, stretching out towards places like Lightning Ridge.
04:15So there was some really damaging fires.
04:17And unfortunately, we did actually see some firefighter deaths as well.
04:21I think it's a question quite often asked at this time of year, you know, what is the
04:24seasonal outlook going to be?
04:26I think the main thing is the Bureau is still saying we are sitting in that La Nina watch.
04:30But at least we are looking at possibly 50-50 on the rainfall.
04:34So no strong indication of being wetter than average or drier than average.
04:38But there is the chance that we could see some warmer than average temperatures, at
04:41least over the next three months.
04:43That is going to really start to dry this landscape out.
04:46That is going to make it more fire prone, like we do typically see it this year.
04:49So I think we can expect a more traditional fire season at this point.
04:53But I think as well, as you just mentioned, for a lot of the populated areas, that's more
04:57than we've seen over the last three years.
04:59So especially areas, those high populated areas around Sydney, the Central Coast, stretching
05:04down through the Illawarra.
05:05So we need to plan and prepare accordingly.
05:07We need to shift our mind now back towards our bushfire preparedness.
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