Bushfires in Australia still raging but major threat averted

The firefighter officials battling the wildfire in the state of New South Wales in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney said that the worst fears from the blazes are over but the crisis are far from over yet.

Zee Media Bureau/Himanshu Kapoor

Sydney: The firefighter officials battling the wildfire in the state of New South Wales in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney said that the worst fears from the blazes are over but the crisis are far from over yet.

As the threats have been averted, New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons on Wednesday said that the residents who fled their homes would be able to return. However, people have been told to remain vigilant, although no more property loss has been reported.

With 73 fires burning across the state, out of which 29 are uncontrolled, Fitzsimmons warned of new challenges in the coming days and said that he will not rest until “these fires are more under control.”

Meanwhile, the investigators looking into the cause of one of the largest fire in the town of Lithgow said that a military training exercise ignited the fire. The military is yet to make any comments on the findings but it has acknowledged that the fire could have been sparked by the explosives training exercise that did take place in the area where the fire started.
The Lithgow fire alone has burnt 47,000 hectares of land and destroyed several houses, but no deaths have been reported in the blaze. The fire which was earlier put in the highest emergency category has now been downgraded.
Around 3,000 firefighters are trying to contain the fire as so far the fire has destroyed more than 200 homes and has burnt around 306,000 acres of land across New South Wales.

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