NSW residents evacuate as wildfires rage across the state

Rural areas of Australia's New South Wales continue to face extreme fire conditions and have been evacuated as wildfires rage across the state. The Rural Fire Service has announced that 97 fires were recorded across the New South Wales, which cause threats to several homes.

Those who were residing in a small village in the NSW central west have been advised to evacuate. On Sunday, the NSW Rural Fire Service has sent an emergency warning to the residents of Uarbry and Turill. People from the said areas were advised to leave towards Cassilis if the path was clear.

The heatwave and fast winds from the desert are reportedly causing flames. Over 2,000 firefighters have been extinguishing the fire. Many of them are volunteers.

The flames were previously listed as being over 2,000 hectares in size. The Rural Fire Service has admitted that it would be difficult for firefighters to restrain the blaze.

RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said the condition is as bad as it gets. “We simply cannot guarantee that a fire truck will be at every home or at every property under these conditions,” he said.

The NSW Rural Fire Service is sending telephone messages to alert people residing in the area. The emergency warning indicates that fire was burning in catastrophic conditions and is expected to spread rapidly.

Deputy Rural Fire Service Commissioner Rob Rogers has shared that the fire was moving fast, about 12kph. “The information we have is that a number of homes have been impacted by fire in that area,” he said.

The fire has already broken containment lines. Rural Fire Service spokesman Paul Best told the ABC that it is a dangerous, fast-moving fire. Numerous areas in the New South Wales are facing exceptional fire danger conditions over the weekend.

A statewide fire ban has been announced for NSW, particularly in the state’s central west, across the tablelands to the Hunter Region and out to the coast. The Bureau of Meteorology said a trough was heading northeast from the central region which results to very hot, dry and gusty northwesterly winds. The bureau has forecasted that there will be severe to catastrophic fire conditions in central and northern districts.

Meanwhile, Queensland authorities have issued warnings about dehydration. The move was done after three school students suffered heat-related problems and were hospitalised in north of Brisbane on Feb. 10. Queensland University of Technology Professor Gerard Fitzgerald advised people to ensure proper levels of hydration.