Bush Fire Smoke Obscures Sydney Landmarks

Smoke from more than 100 bush fires blanketed Sydney today, obscuring the tallest skyscrapers, the famous Opera House and Harbor Bridge with visibility cut to just a few hundred yards.

“I can’t see the Opera House,” one Taiwanese visitor said as she looked across from the harbor’s northern shore several hundred yards away.

At Sydney airport, poor visibility forced the diversion of two domestic and three international flights to Brisbane and the capital, Canberra.

Harbor ferries packed with summer holiday travelers used their foghorns to avoid collisions with small weekend pleasure craft. Asthma sufferers had to take refuge in air-conditioned buildings.

“It’s terrible. We came here for nice weather,” said Lucy Johnson, a tourist from London, after alighting from a ferry at Sydney’s main terminal.

Local radio said the smog was setting off smoke alarms in some office buildings, adding to the workload of overstretched fire crews.

The fires flared Christmas Day as high winds fanned flames. More than 10,000 firefighters and support staff are battling blazes to the north, west and south of the city.

Weather conditions today were relatively benign after forecasts of soaring temperatures and strong winds failed to materialize.

“The forecast weather has not eventuated in many parts of the state [New South Wales], the humidity is higher than anticipated, the northwesterly winds did not emerge at all,” a relieved state fire chief Phil Koperberg said.

But he warned that the situation was still grave.

“All this has done has been to delay operations to any significant extent by perhaps 24 hours,” he said. “The [weather] bureau is talking about a westerly airstream emerging [Monday], which will dry the atmosphere considerably.”

Police suspect that nearly half the fires were started deliberately and have set up a special task force to investigate. Eight people, including three 15-year-old boys, have now been arrested in connection with lighting fires. A 22-year-old man arrested Saturday and charged with setting fire to property will appear in court today.