High winds, temperatures fuel Aussie Wildfire
Pastor Dale Morgan
*High winds, temperatures fuel Aussie Wildfire*
September 22, 2006 11:16am
Article from: AAP
AUSTRALIA - FIRE crews battling a wild bushfire in Victoria's far
north-west are facing another day of extreme fire conditions.
The fire has burned out more than 23,000 hectares of the Murray-Sunset
National Park in remote mallee country near Murrayville, 510km
north-west of Melbourne.
The fire flared after an unexpected wind change caused it to jump
containment lines and spread through the national park, helped by high
winds and unseasonable warm weather in recent days.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast extreme fire weather for the
mallee again today with dry conditions, gale-force winds and
temperatures in the mid to high 20s.
About 70 firefighters, supported by water-bombing aircraft, are working
to contain the fire and extinguish hotspots, Department of
Sustainability and Environment (DSE) fire and emergency spokesman Liam
Fogarty said.
"The temperatures will be warm and the humidity will be low and we are
expecting conditions to worsen ahead of a front mid-afternoon," Mr
Fogarty told AAP.
The fire was three to four kilometres inside the national park and was
not affecting private property, he said.
DSE fire crews were working to strengthen containment lines on the
south-east front of the fire, he said.