Fires Destroy Homes, Kill Man in Australia
Fires raging through suburban bush land on the outskirts of Sydney destroyed at least 32 homes Wednesday and today and killed a 73-year-old man who was trying to herd horses away from a fast-advancing wall of flames.
On Wednesday afternoon, 25 homes were destroyed, with the worst blazes in the northwestern suburb of Glenorie, and in Wattle Grove and Heathcote in the southwestern suburbs. Another seven houses were ravaged by powerful fireballs today.
Several homes were destroyed by flames leaping 200 feet in the air and causing oil-filled eucalyptus trees to burst, fire service spokesman John Winter said.
“We’ve really got to attribute these fires to some sort of human action ... whether that be deliberate or accidental,” he said.
New South Wales state political leader Bob Carr said at least one of the fires might have been sparked by a cigarette butt thrown from a car window. Other blazes, he said, may have been deliberately started.
Early today, 3,000 firefighters were being deployed to battle the blazes, and dozens of water-bombing helicopters and planes were taking to the air.
Temperatures Wednesday reached 97 degrees in western Sydney, and the city of 4 million is experiencing one of the worst droughts in memory.
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