Fires are burning across NSW, with Tasmania also facing an emergency, while in US, Washington state braces for floods
Bushfires have been ravaging Australia, with more than 50 burning throughout New South Wales, destroying homes and resulting in at least one death. Nine blazes remained out of control on Monday as flames ripped through homes and critical infrastructure. Scorching temperatures – peaking at 41C in Koolewong – combined with fierce, erratic winds to spread the fires rapidly and made them harder to control.
On Sunday night an Australian firefighter was killed after a tree fell on him while he worked on a fireground near Bulahdelah, about 150 miles (250km) north of Sydney. The blaze scorched 3,500 hectares (8,600 acres) and destroyed four homes over the weekend. NSW, one of the nation’s most fire-prone regions, is particularly vulnerable because of its hot, dry climate and vast eucalyptus forests, which shed oils that become highly flammable.
Further south, Tasmania faced its own emergency, with a fast-moving 700-hectare fire at Dolphin Sands causing destruction to 19 homes and damaging at least 40 more, leaving coastal communities reeling.
Authorities warn the heightened bushfire threat is being fuelled by rising temperatures and a dangerous build-up of vegetation. Previous years of La Niña weather systems delivered unusually wet summers, triggering dense growth across forests and grasslands. However, recent months of below-average rainfall have rapidly dried that vegetation, turning it into abundant, volatile fuel. With the season already labelled as “high risk”, many fear this could be Australia’s most dangerous summer since the “black summer” fires of 2019-20.
