Emergency warning for NSW fire, Sydney sweats through hottest March night in six years

Marisa Quintana has lived in her home in the state’s Central West for the past 20 years and has never seen a fire. That changed on Tuesday when the Tambaroora fire that started the day before swept through the town of Hargraves.

Quintana said she sheltered inside the home with her dogs, crying and shaking while her husband joined firefighters outside.

While the threat has passed for Quintana, others in the region are facing emergency fire conditions. The Alpha Road fire at Tambaroora, which has burnt through more than 2000 hectares, was upgraded to an emergency warning level on Tuesday afternoon as temperatures spiked across the state.

There are 36 fires burning across NSW, 17 of which are out of control.

Meanwhile, Sydney sweltered through its warmest March nights in six years on Monday, with the heatwave expected to continue until Wednesday.

At midnight, the temperature at Observatory Hill remained at 24 degrees after Monday’s high of 37.9 degrees. At 5am, the temperature had only dropped to 22.3 degrees, the warmest overnight minimum temperature since 22.5 degrees on March 30, 2017.

Marisa Quintana has lived in the NSW Central West for 20 years and had never seen a fire near her home before Tuesday.Credit:Brook Mitchell

Sydney’s temperatures were slightly cooler than Monday: the city recording 34 degrees at Tuesday lunchtime and Penrith at 36 degrees.

Weatherzone meteorologist Steph Spackman said the high temperatures were likely to continue until Wednesday evening when a southerly change is expected to up the coast. She added while the heatwave may seem intense, it was not out of the ordinary.

Three back-to-back La Nina events have produced increased rain and cooler temperatures across much of the east coast, with heavy cloud cover in the Northern Territory also preventing further warming.

Temperatures for Sydney are set to be in the high-20s on Wednesday and 25 on Thursday. Western Sydney will be in the low 30s on Wednesday and about 28 degrees the following day.

Monday was the peak of the heatwave, as the bureau recorded the Sydney CBD’s top temperature at 37.9 degrees, the airport at 40.6 degrees and Penrith at 40.1 degrees.

Despite the slight easing in conditions, the NSW Rural Fire Service remains concerned about the fire risk. It has issued total fire bans for eight regions, including Bathurst, Lithgow, Cessnock, Newcastle and Narrabri. The risk level remains moderate to high for the state.

NSW RFS Inspector Ben Shepherd said on Tuesday afternoon weather conditions still meant heightened fire risk, including the emergency warning upgrade to the Tambaroora fire.

“It has entered some more thick bushland, it is moving quickly and spotting ahead of itself. There are a number of homes in the path and residents in the area have been urged to seek shelter as the fire approaches,” he said.

Shepherd said the cool change expected on Wednesday will reduce the fire danger, but concerns remain for the rest of the season given how much grass growth there has been in the past few years.

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.

Most Viewed in National

From our partners

Source: Read Full Article