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Topic: State of emergency in Australian capital
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Kindgo
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Member # 2
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Wildfires Kill at Least 4 in Australia
Wildfires Kill at Least 4, Destroy Nearly 400 Homes on the Outskirts of Canberra, Australia
CANBERRA, Australia Jan. 19 —
Hundreds of people began sifting through the charred remains of their homes on the outskirts of Australia's capital Sunday after wildfires swept through the region, killing four people and destroying at least 388 homes.
The fires, which hit the Canberra area on Saturday, forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes. At least 240 people, including some who used garden hoses and buckets to protect their property, were treated for burns and smoke inhalation.
"I have been to a lot of bushfire scenes in Australia ... but this is by far the worst," Prime Minister John Howard said.
The fires were contained by late Sunday though they still smoldered in some areas and authorities feared the wind could rekindle the flames.
Police patrolled charred and deserted neighborhoods amid isolated reports of looting. Smoke and embers drifted across the city of 320,000 people.
Residents told of a fast-moving fire, driven by hot, dry winds.
"We just got a few precious things out and the family dog and within two minutes the house was just gone," said resident Tony Walter. "It just exploded."
In Duffy district, Chris Houghton surveyed the charred ruins of his home.
"I was in the back yard and the heat got me. I was just burning," said Houghton, who was treated for burns to his hands. "It all happened so quickly."
The fire damaged or destroyed homes, schools, the historic Stromlo Observatory along with thousands of acres of pine forests. John Stanhope, chief minister of the territory that includes Canberra, estimated the cost of the damage in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Jason Walker, who lives in the suburb of Lyons, said his house survived, but the fire destroyed those of his neighbors on either side of him. "I do not know how I survived," he told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Those who died included one man who apparently died of smoke inhalation. Another victim was an 83-year-old woman. Further details were not immediately available.
"It is a day of enormous sadness," Stanhope said. "What we experienced today is a once in 100 years or 200 years experience."
Most of the fires were caused by lightning strikes a week ago in a nearby national park but authorities didn't rule out the possibility that some were later set by arsonists.
More than 1,000 people remained in evacuation centers late Sunday after authorities warned they faced continued fire danger and the threat of explosions from gas leaks.
Australia is experiencing a drought that has left much of the countryside vulnerable to fire. Once fires start, they roar through dry undergrowth and oily eucalyptus trees.
Stanhope defended local officials against charges they were unprepared for the inferno. "This was an event of such enormity, of such force and such devastating power that it simply ran over the top of us," he said.
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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Kindgo
Advanced Member
Member # 2
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posted
, January 18, 2003 Posted: 5:58 AM EST (1058 GMT)
A man runs from the inferno Saturday in Canberra.
CANBERRA, Australia -- Australia's capital is under a state of emergency as firefighters struggle with ferocious bushfires that have already killed one person, burned dozens of homes and forced thousands of evacuations.
In what has been described as "firestorm" conditions, Saturday's blazes burned into Canberra's suburbs, fueled by high winds and blistering temperatures.
Australian officials estimate as many as 100 homes have been destroyed. One police spokesperson told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that one person had died, but gave no details.
Local radio stations warned that more than 30 suburbs could be in the path of flames and conditions were so bad fire crews had not reached many of the worst-hit areas. They reported that a fire station, school and medical centre had been destroyed.
Television reports said authorities were not able to send out helicopters and despite still being daylight, parts of the city were in the dark as smoke blocked out the sun.
Taken by surprise
While Canberra is often coined the "bush capital," residents were taken by surprise at the fire's spread into the city and dashed home to hose their roof and put out fires sparked by embers.
"I know (my house has) gone. My mate's has gone. All my medals are lost. I've lost my wife and daughter and I can't find them anywhere," Duffy resident Alan Latta told AAP.
At least five fire fronts were burning in the city late Saturday, with officials saying that every area of the capital was at risk, as Australia struggles with one of its worst droughts in a century.
"No area of Canberra is immune from this emergency, everyone should be filling their bath tubs with water in case of spot fires," New South Wales Rural Fire brigade spokesman Cameron Wade told ABC radio.
A fire burning in a park south of the city had moved into the capital's western suburbs, destroying dozens of homes and forcing the evacuation of thousands of the city's 300,000 residents, according to Reuters reports.
While hundreds of foreign diplomats live in Canberra, parliament is not in session and the prime minister and most federal politicians are out of the city for the summer.
Out of control
Director of emergency services, Mike Castle, told ABC radio the outlook for the evening was not good, when the wind is likely to blow the fire into the southern suburbs.
At least a thousand firefighters were tackling the outbreaks.
Radio broadcasts are being interrupted by regular power outages, and traffic lights throughout the city are flickering as electricity, gas and water services are hit by the fires.
To the southwest of Canberra, the worst bushfires in 50 years were sweeping out of control through the Snowy Mountains.
The country's main mountain resort of Thredbo had been evacuated, authorities told Reuters, with more than a thousand people told to leave as blazes closed in on the resort of Thredbo nestled under Mount Kosciuszko, Australia's highest peak at 2,228 metres (7,310 ft).
At least a thousand firefighters tackling outbreaks across 80,000 hectares (197,700 acres) of the mountains were being pulled back because conditions were too dangerous.
In the weeks before Christmas, at least one man died defending his home as fierce fires raged around Sydney, forcing hundreds to evacuate and engulfing at least 20 houses.
Fires are natural to Australia's dry bush, roaring through parched undergrowth and into oil-filled eucalyptus trees, sparking infernos. As the country's cities grow, homes are encroaching onto natural bushlands
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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