Relief in Australia as rain helps dampen some fires, but danger remains

NOWRA (NEW SOUTH WALES) • Heavy rain fell across parts of fire-ravaged eastern Australia yesterday and more wet weather was forecast, giving some relief following months of catastrophic blazes fuelled by climate change.

The fires, unprecedented for Australia in terms of duration and intensity, have claimed 28 lives and killed an estimated billion animals.

Sustained hot weather and rare periods of light rain in the affected areas have deepened the crisis.

Downpours yesterday in New South Wales, which saw many of the worst fires, offered hope that dozens of blazes could be brought under control.

"Although this rain won't extinguish all fires, it will go a long way towards containment," the state's Rural Fire Service said in a social media post accompanying footage of rain falling in a burning forest.

Before the rains, there were 30 blazes burning out of control in New South Wales. Along the south coast of the state, locals who witnessed towns and forests being destroyed in recent weeks expressed cautious hope.

"We're thrilled and so relieved to have some dampness in the air because it makes things safe for a little while," Ms Virginia Connor told Agence France-Presse near the town of Nowra. "But we need more, we need lots more."

Smoke from bush fires choked the southern city of Melbourne, in Victoria, from Monday to Wednesday, disrupting the build-up to next week's Australian Open tennis tournament.

But thunderstorms late on Wednesday cleared the smoke, with the wet weather moving east throughout yesterday towards the fires in the southern state.

"Storms have improved air quality in most parts of the state," the Victorian Environment Protection Agency said.

More rain was forecast for today and the weekend which, if it does fall, would be the most sustained period of wet weather since the crisis began in September last year.

Still, with January, February and March typically seeing some of the hottest weather in Australia, the bush fire crisis is far from over.

"We still have a long way to go," Ms Robyn Duell, a senior climatologist with the Bureau of Meteorology, cautioned. "And with higher temperatures, we'll continue to see an elevated risk of bush fires as we move through summer and early autumn."

This week's rains could also make battles tougher for firefighters in some cases, by making it harder for their trucks to venture deep into forests on muddy tracks, the authorities warned.

Flash floods are another concern, with scorched mountains unable to hold the water and potentially sending torrents of muddy ash into waterways.

Australia endures bush fires every year, but they started much earlier than normal in 2019 and have lasted far longer. Forests and farming land were already extremely dry due to a prolonged drought.

The fires have destroyed more than 2,000 homes and burnt 10 million ha of land - an area larger than South Korea or Portugal.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE