Wildfires in Australia’s New South Wales burnt through thousands of hectares of bush land on Saturday, prompting the authorities to urge evacuations at the highest danger rating for thousands of residents in the nation’s most-populous state.
The alert was for the Phegans Bay and Woy Woy area in the the state’s central coast region, with a population of more than 350,000 people, about 45 km (30 miles) north of the state capital Sydney, Australia’s largest city.
As many as 16 homes were lost as bush fires burned across the region, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
“Leave now if the path is clear towards Woy Woy,” the state’s Rural Fire Service said on its website.
A heatwave on Saturday in New South Wales (NSW), bringing temperatures of 42 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit), exacerbated fire risk in the area, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns called a press conference on Saturday afternoon, describing it as a very challenging day for firefighters and a devastating day for people who have lost their homes.
He said more than 1,500 firefighters with 300 vehicles were deployed by the RFS and that the government was doing “everything we can to protect lives”.
“This is a warning for everybody to follow the advice from the RFS, from NSW Police, from fire and rescue.”
NSW RFS Commissioner Trent Curtin said developing weather conditions, including lightning strikes, will be monitored overnight.
“We’re also concerned about the wind change that is expected to come through … somewhere between 2am and 5am tomorrow,” he said.
“That will create very challenging conditions for firefighters, and we’ll need to monitor those conditions.
“Please look out for each other and follow advice from authorities,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.
More than 50 bush fires were burning across the state late on Saturday, the authorities said, including a blaze in the state’s Upper Hunter area, also at the highest emergency rating, which had burnt through almost 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres).
Authorities have warned of a high-risk bush fire season this Australian summer after several quiet seasons. The “Black Summer” fires of 2019-2020 destroyed an area the size of Turkey and killed 33 people.
