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NSW bushfire latest: Emergency warning issued for fast-moving fire at Gosper's Mountain outside Sydney
| 15.11,19. 05:57 PM |
NSW bushfire latest: Emergency warning issued for fast-moving fire at Gosper's Mountain outside Sydney
Blaze threatening homes north of Sydney (ABC News)
Luke Ether from the RFS Hawkesbury brigade said firefighters were setting up to provide property protection around Colo Heights.
Residents near a bushfire burning through large swathes of the Wollemi National Park, near Sydney, are being warned to "leave before it is too late".
The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) has issued an emergency warning for the blaze at Gospers Mountain, about 40 kilometres north of Richmond, in Sydney's north-west.
Emergency warnings have been issued for three other blazes, at Ebor, Bora Ridge and Willi Willi, on the state's Mid-North Coast.
The RFS said the Gospers Mountain fire was "fast moving" and spreading quickly amid hot and windy conditions.
Crews are fighting the 85,000-hectare fire on several fronts.
On one side it is moving south towards Colo Heights where people are being advised to move in the direction of Wilberforce.
It is also spreading north towards Yengo Drive, where people are being told to move in the direction of Milbrodale.
Luke Ether from the RFS Hawkesbury brigade said firefighters were setting up to provide property protection around Colo Heights.
"The fire front is coming towards us but right now it's slowly starting to die down so hopefully we're all good," he said.
Mr Ether said with the wind behind the fire, it was possible the blaze could intensify.
"[These fires] are pretty dangerous to fight but that's what we're here for."
Resident Danny Campos was taking the RFS advice and leaving towards Windsor, with little more than some medication and sleeping bags.
"I'm going to town, leaving now — it's scary," he said.
NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said conditions were not helping firefighters.
"The winds particularly are stirring up the fire behaviour and causing the fire to start becoming more erratic and spreading," he said.
"These four that have triggered into emergency warning are because they are either directly or imminently about to impact on more property or more people and communities."
Mr Fitzsimmons said temperatures over the weekend would be "challenging", however the real threat would come mid-next week with another burst of hot and windy weather.
"There's just so much fire on the ground there's so much potential for these fires to continue to spread," he said.
It has been a dire week for NSW firefighters — in the state's north, more than 250 homes have been destroyed by blazes in the past seven days.
The RFS has been assessing the damage from a series of out-of-control blazes since last Friday and northern NSW was affected particularly badly.
A total of 259 homes were razed in that area, while 87 homes were damaged and almost 500 outbuildings were destroyed.
Four people have also been killed.
Last Friday, a record 17 emergency warnings were issued for fires burning in NSW.
abc
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