Sydney air clears, fire still a threat
The air over Sydney cleared of smoke today for the first time in more than a fortnight, but bush fires continued to threaten a coastal village further south.
Fires still burned in the Shoalhaven region, 120 miles south of Sydney, where as many as 2,000 people were ordered to leave their homes yesterday.
Many returned today, but around 200 residents and tourists staying in the hamlet of Fisherman’s Paradise remained camped at a nearby fairground.
They recounted how police ordered them to leave their homes.
‘‘We were only able to grab photographs, important documents, the dog, the cat and the family,’’ said resident July Bayliff. ‘‘There was lots of smoke and the winds were fierce.’’
Brief rain doused many blazes nearer to Sydney, Australia’s largest city, but wild fires continued to burn in other parts of New South Wales state, mostly away from homes.
Firefighters have been battling fires for 16 days. At the height of the crisis last week, thick smoke shrouded Sydney, a city of four million, and some fires entered suburban parks.
Although no deaths have been reported, 170 homes have been destroyed. Police have arrested 24 people, many of them children and teenagers, for allegedly starting blazes.
More than one million acres of forest and farmland have been razed, and wildlife officials estimate thousands of animals, including koalas, have been killed or injured in the fires.
