Australian state grapples with catastrophic bushfires as weather worsens

Rural fire service superintendent Ben Shepard has echoed the words of the NSW Premier, describing conditions as “problematic”.

He told the ABC, Australia’s national broadcaster, that a fire in the coastal town of Woy Woy, NSW, transferred across the bay by jumping over the ocean, with embers therefore traveling nearly an entire kilometre to ignite new parts of the region ablaze.

“What we have seen in recent days is similar activity right across our firegrounds — in some cases not just jumping a kilometre, but a number of kilometres ahead of the main fire,” he said.

“So that’s where it becomes really problematic for firefighters trying to control those fires, trying to use aircraft to slow the spread and trying to do what they can do to protect communities and homes.”