Arya News - An Australian firefighter has died while battling a wildfire north of Sydney.
Credit: Reuters
An Australian firefighter has died while battling a wildfire north of Sydney .
The 59-year-old man was struck by a falling tree near Bulahdelah, New South Wales, on Sunday night as he tackled the blaze, which has destroyed homes and burnt large areas of bushland.
The firefighter suffered a cardiac arrest and died at the scene, officials said.
Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister , said the “terrible news is a sombre reminder” of the dangers faced by emergency services personnel as they work to protect homes and families.
“We honour that bravery, every day,” Mr Albanese said in a statement.
A firefighter working in the Koolewong area on the Central Coast of New South Wales where fires have burnt through more than 100 hectares - Dan Himbrechts/Shutterstock
A fast-moving fire over the weekend destroyed 16 homes in New South Wales state’s Central Coast region, home to about 350,000 people.
There were 52 wildfires burning across New South Wales on Monday, and nine remained out of control. A total of 20 homes were destroyed over the weekend in that state, said Trent Curtin, the Rural Fire Service Commissioner.
Conditions eased overnight, allowing officials to downgrade fire danger alerts, although the weather bureau warned some inland towns in the state could hit more than 40C (104F) on Tuesday, raising fire dangers.
Burnt-out homes after a bushfire spread through the Koolewong area on the Central Coast, New South Wales - Dan Himbrechts/Shutterstock
Rouchelle Doust, from the hard-hit town of Koolewong, said she and her husband tried to save their home as flames advanced.
Ms Doust told the ABC channel: “He’s up there in his bare feet trying to put it out, and he’s trying and trying, and I’m screaming at him to come down.
“Everything’s in it: his grandmother’s stuff, his mother’s stuff, all my stuff – everything, it’s all gone, the whole lot.”
Water-bombing planes and helicopters aim to slow the spread of the fires in New South Wales - Claudio Galdames Alarco/Getty Images
On the island state of Tasmania, a 700-hectare (1,729 acres) blaze at Dolphin Sands, about 93 miles north-east of the state capital of Hobart, destroyed 19 homes and damaged 40. The fire has been contained, but residents have been warned not to return as conditions remain dangerous, officials said.
Authorities have warned of a high-risk bushfire season during Australia’s summer months from December to February, with increased chances of extreme heat across large parts of the country following several relatively quiet years.
In neighbouring New Zealand, five helicopters and multiple crews were working to put out a fire near the country’s oldest national park, a month after a wildfire burnt through 2,589 hectares (6,400 acres) of alpine bush there.
Police said they had closed a road near the state highway and advised motorists to avoid the area and expect delays, after the blaze near Tongariro National Park, a popular hiking spot, spread to 110 hectares (272 acres) by Monday afternoon.
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