Firefighters in Australia are bracing for the "worst possible circumstances" as extreme heatwave sweeps the New South Wales in the coming days combined with low humidity, strong winds, and several already-aggressive fires burning near populated areas.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner Rob Rogers said a dozen homes were lost when a critical backburn on the southern flank of the "mega-blaze" in Gospers Mountain on Sunday night.
Rogers said crews are yet to assess the full scope of the damage and confirm numbers, but "certainly we're talking a dozen homes." Out of 115 blazes across the state, there are 59 fires out of control on Tuesday.
Rogers expressed his concerned on fire is "aggressively behaving" during "relatively mild" climate over recent days, and how that bodes for later in the week when a heatwave expects to raise temperatures into the mid-40s.
He said the circumstances, given that there are strong winds and so much fire in the landscape in so close a proximity to urban areas, would make an awful situation.
To add to the fires' concurrence to populated areas, Rogers said crews are worried about another front of the same fire creeping towards a coal pit in Springvale that supplies 10 percent of the state's electricity.
Vacationers warned for fire risk
This week's heat might surpass the nationwide daily maximum temperature of 40.3 degrees Celsius (104.5 degrees Fahrenheit) set in January 2013, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said.
Meteorologist Dr. Adam Morgan gives us an update on the heatwave conditions sweeping from west to east through the week.
Check your local forecast here: https://t.co/sk7O7aBoDP pic.twitter.com/VSU0nnyuBw — Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) December 16, 2019
Perth, Western Australia's city capital with a population of roughly two million people, had its temperature peak above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) for three days in a row for the time in December this year.
Bushfire summit announced amid 'leadership vacuum'
A group of ex-emergency services chiefs announced they would hold their emergency bushfire summit at the end of the season as developments continue for deteriorating fire conditions.
"We are here [due to] the continuing bushfire crisis, and also because of the leadership vacuum in Canberra," says former Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner Greg Mullins, who leads the group, adding that the fires in New South Wales are "totally unprecedented."
"More country has burned, more homes lost [thrice] than our worst previous fire season. We have [an upcoming heatwave], who [understands] what that will do, and the driving [strength] behind this is climate change," Mullins said.
Mullins said the group has gathered and contributed suggestions to the minister for Natural Disaster and Emergency Management, David Littleproud, and Energy Minister Angus Taylor. However, several requests to meet with the Prime Minister had been rebuffed.
"Because of that leadership vacuum, [the situation made us come up] an emergency bushfire summit after this summer," the former Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner said.
Mullins said the summit would bring together people from all areas - including politicians, government officials, military, health professionals, firefighters, farmers, and Indigenous people.
"Australia is [blazing] while we turn a blind eye to the [powerful] force, which is climate change and [global warming]," he said.
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