Debilitated firefighters announced they had subsequently made Australia’s most massive “mega blaze” under control Monday, as wet weather assured to deliver much-needed break for countryside ravaged by bushfires.
New South Wales firefighters stated they finally had the upper hand in the battle against the vast Gospers Mountain fire on Sydney’s northwestern outskirts, which has been blazing beyond control for almost three months.
Touring the area on Monday, New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons stated there was a “little area of burning still to complete”, however, the “containment prognosis looks encouraging.”
The fire burned an area of the national park three times the size of Greater London and burned numerous coupled blazes calculating over 800,000 hectares which an area bigger than Austria.
As inhabitants and authorities continued to come to grips with the sheer scale of the devastation, the Bureau of Meteorology forecast some firegrounds could get up to 50 millimetres (two inches) of rain in the next week, a relief after a prolonged drought.
If that forecast bears out, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service said, “then this will be all of our Christmas, birthday, engagement, anniversary, wedding and graduation presents rolled into one. Fingers crossed.”
Dozens of other fires are yet to be controlled.
The climate-change-fuelled fires have prompted an international outpouring and donations from around the world to help communities and animal populations.
Australia’s unique flora and fauna have taken a catastrophic hit, with an estimated one billion animals killed, and countless trees and shrubs burned away.
The country’s environment minister Sussan Ley has warned that in some areas, koalas may have to be reclassified as endangered.
This weekend, Sydney will host a star-studded charity gig to benefit fire services, the Red Cross and animal welfare organisations.