Fire at Edmondson Park downgraded to advice level
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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