AUSTRALIA: The bush fire crisis in New South Wales claimed its first properties in four days yesterday, as thousands of residents were evacuated from their homes around the state, and firefighters were overcome by flames in some areas due to continued high temperatures and strong winds.
Police have arrested 21 people, some as young as nine, on suspicion of arson as bush fires in and around Sydney wreaked further damage yesterday.
More than 160 homes have been destroyed by the fires which took hold on Christmas Day driven by hot, dry weather and high winds, conditions that helped fuel the 1983 fires which swept through Victoria and South Australia states, killing 76 people.
The worst-affected area yesterday was the township of Sussex Inlet on the New South Wales coast. However, the flames which had threatened homes in the northern suburbs of Sydney on Tuesday failed to claim any houses despite fears that hundreds of properties would be lost.
In the Blue Mountains north-east of Sydney, huge tracts were ablaze last night, even though helicopters had circled overhead all day "water-bombing" bush-land close to residential areas.
Thanks to the efforts of firefighting crews, no homes in any of Sydney's northern suburbs or around the Blue Mountains have been lost so far, despite the authorities believing those areas are still most at risk from a major disaster.
However, some homes in Pennant Hills Park, north Sydney, suffered minor damage.
"In some cases we had some flame impingement on some of the homes but our crews were quickly on to those and managed to suppress the fire and we lost no houses and, more importantly, lost no lives or suffered any injuries," said Incident Controller Chief Supt Bob Dobson.
"It's impacted at North Epping, South Turramurra, in the Fox Valley area at Wahroonga and in some areas of West Pymble and areas of Marsfield Park," he said.
But in Sussex Inlet late yesterday at least four homes had been burnt and about 2,000 residents evacuated.
The crisis took a political turn yesterday when the Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, said the federal government will consider buying up to three water-bomber helicopters as part of a national firefighting fleet.
The Victorian government, which has S-64 Erickson Air Crane helicopters on lease from Canada, has given them to the New South Wales government for use during the current crisis.
About 15,000 firefighters from all over Australia have been fighting the fires since Christmas.