New South Wales wildfires ease as winds drop
Winds that were fanning wildfires and showering embers on threatened Australian communities have eased after scores of residents evacuated their homes in mountains west of Sydney.
All schools had closed in the Blue Mountains in anticipation of bad fire conditions, and authorities advised residents who were not prepared to defend their homes to leave for evacuation centres. One centre in west suburban Sydney was housing 120 evacuees.
Seventy-one blazes were burning in New South Wales state around Sydney, including 29 that were out of control. As the temperatures and winds dropped, the danger of fire spreading eased with no reports of injuries.
Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said many hours of firefighting are still to come, but added: “The broader risk to a much larger, more widespread population has certainly eased.”