The annual wildfires continue in Australia, razing more than 3,300 square miles of forest and farmland since Friday. The New South Wales’ authorities have declared the fire emergency on Monday.
The New South Wales (NSW) is one of the most populated Australia’s states. On Monday, its ministry of emergency has declared a fire emergency while the worsening conditions expected from wildfires that have claimed three lives and more than 150 homes.
This year, the unusually warm and dry winter caused the extreme drought in Australia where the fire season traditionally has its peak during southern hemisphere summer.
NSW’s emergency services minister David Elliott said the wildfires “could be the most dangerous bushfire week this nation has ever seen”, and urged the residents to be very attentive and not to skip the local announcements and news.
Since Friday, fires in the state’s north-east have razed more than 3,300 square miles of forest and farmland. Under the unbelievable drought, the agricultural sector is almost done, the farmers say.
According to meteorologists, there are no chances of the rainfalls this week, so, Tuesday will be one of the hardest ever day for the north-west region. Fire conditions are forecast to be worse tomorrow than they were at the peak of the current fire emergency on Friday.
During the briefing with press on Monday, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian told that the catastrophic weather conditions mean that things can change very quickly.
“You might think you’re OK and a few minutes later you won’t be. Please heed all the messages you receive. Tomorrow (Tuesday) is not the day to be complacent,” she urged.
Fires in NSW: ‘Catastrophic is off the conventional scale’
The highest ever fire danger has been declared for Sydney and the Hunter Valley region to the north on Tuesday, with severe and extreme danger across vast parts of the rest of the state.
“Catastrophic is off the conventional scale,” Rural Fire Service (RFS) commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.
The week-long declaration of a state of emergency gives the RFS sweeping powers to direct any government agency to conduct or refrain from conducting any of its functions.
It can order the immediate shutdown of essential utilities including gas and electricity in fire-declared areas and can close roads and take possession of any property during an emergency response.
