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Utility workers may have sparked Sydney fires
By Grant Holloway, CNN
SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Bushfires that destroyed or badly damaged more than 20 homes in suburban Sydney may have been accidentally started by utility workers repairing water pipes. An investigation has now begun into the cause of the fires after Sydney's water authority admitted sparks flying from an angle-grinder or power-saw used by one of its maintenance crews could have sparked the inferno. Sydney Water has said it will pay compensation to homeowners if it is found to have been the cause of the fire. Fire authorities earlier suspected arsonists were behind the blazes, having ruled out natural causes such as lightning strikes. The bushfires totally destroyed at least 11 homes and forced hundreds of evacuations in Sydney's outer suburbs on Tuesday evening. But cooler weather and calmer winds Wednesday enabled fire crews to get major fires under control. However, fire authorities warn that a total fire ban remains in place across metropolitan Sydney and most regional areas of New South Wales state and that the risk of further threatening blazes is high. The weather forecast for the remainder of this week predicts continuing high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds across the state. Authorities warn people to take extreme care in threatened areas and to avoid lighting any fires in open areas. DroughtThe blazes mark an earlier than usual start for Australia's bushfire season with the situation made worse by an extended drought across much of the country. Many areas have not seen rain for more than six months. In NSW, Australia's most populous state, 93 percent is now officially in drought with many areas the driest they've been since records began more than 100 years ago. Last Christmas, hundreds of bushfires raged for more than two weeks in and around Sydney, Australia's commercial capital and largest city. That fire crisis, which began on Christmas Eve, razed more than 570,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of land and destroyed 170 properties, causing more than $40 million of damage. At one stage more than 20,000 firefighters were required to control the flames and water-bombing helicopters were flown in from the United States to assist with the battle. A spokesman for the NSW Rural Fire Service told CNN Monday that the drought situation did not bode well for the months ahead. "It's certainly going to be a long summer. It's going to be full on," the spokesman said. Australia's bushfire season officially began on October 1 and fires have been burning ever since. The spokesman warned that areas which were burned by last year's infernos could easily catch fire again, although the blazes would be less intense. Natural eventAnd while hundreds of thousands of hectares were burnt last year, there remained "millions and millions" of hectares of bush which had been unaffected. Australian bushland is dominated by eucalyptus and other oily trees which catch fire easily in dry weather and burn with great intensity. However, many plant species in the Australian bush are also dependent on the fires to stimulate re-growth. Burnt-out areas are often fully restored in just a few years. While the fires are a necessary and natural event in Australia, the expansion of city suburbs into native bush areas over the past few decades has increased the damaging impact of the infernos on property. For example, Sydney, a city of 4 million people, has extensive bushland areas fringing the city and reaching deep into suburban areas, often to within just a few kilometers of the central business district. Last year's fires at one stage came to within 10 kilometers (6 miles) of the main central business district.
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