Terrific moment's in Australia bushfire caught on camera compilation 2020
- 4 years ago
Skies turned blood red above parts of southeast Australia on Sunday as residents sought refuge from deadly bushfires, and a senior firefighter described the previous 24 hours as "one of our worst days ever."
Photographs of Pambula, in the state of New South Wales, showed an eerie, smoke-filled landscape, with deserted streets illuminated by an otherworldly, blazing red sky.
About 30 kilometers (19 miles) south, blood-red skies loomed over the town of Eden. There, hundreds of residents were seeking shelter on the beach on police advice, one Eden resident told CNN. Many houses have been destroyed in the area, and officials said they feared there would be fatalities.
A total of 146 fires are burning across the state, with 65 uncontained, according to the NSW Rural Fire Service (NSWRFS). About 2,700 firefighters were tackling the blazes on Sunday.
"Conditions have eased today and firefighters have gained the upper hand on several dangerous fires. There are no total fire bans in place for Monday," the NSWRFS posted on Twitter.
A blood-red sky looms over Eden, New South Wales, on January 5, 2020.
A blood-red sky looms over Eden, New South Wales, on January 5, 2020.
Earlier, NSWRFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told a news conference that Saturday was "one of our worst days ever on record."
A "considerable number" of properties were lost across NSW on Saturday, Fitzsimmons said, adding that a 47-year-old man had died from cardiac arrest while fighting a fire threatening his friend's home in Batlow. The man is the 24th person to die nationwide this fire season.
Separately, four firefighters in NSW were hospitalized due to smoke inhalation, heat exhaustion and hand burns. They have since been released.
Fitzsimmons said that conditions could worsen again in the coming days. "Today will be a relief -- psychological relief but not what we need," he said.
Fire-induced thunderstorms over New South Wales, seen from a flight on January 5, 2020.
Fire-induced thunderstorms over New South Wales, seen from a flight on January 5, 2020.
Australia's flag carrier Qantas canceled all flights to and from the country's capital, Canberra, on Sunday due to smoke and hazardous weather conditions.
An airline passenger spotted huge clouds caused by the fires over NSW during a flight from Sydney to Melbourne on Sunday. They are pyrocumulonimbus clouds -- fire-induced thunderstorms -- which form when hot air rises from a ground based fire, according to CNN meteorologists. The air cools and condenses as it ascends, causing a cloud to form.
"This process is similar to the development of a thunderstorm," said CNN Weather's Derek Van Dam. "As such, a downdraft forms within the base of the pyrocumulonimbus cloud, allowing for embers to be picked up and carried to form new fires."
The flight deck of a C-130J Hercules is lit by the red glow of the fires below as the aircrew attempts to land in Merimbula to drop off fire and rescue crews to assist fighting the bushfires on
Photographs of Pambula, in the state of New South Wales, showed an eerie, smoke-filled landscape, with deserted streets illuminated by an otherworldly, blazing red sky.
About 30 kilometers (19 miles) south, blood-red skies loomed over the town of Eden. There, hundreds of residents were seeking shelter on the beach on police advice, one Eden resident told CNN. Many houses have been destroyed in the area, and officials said they feared there would be fatalities.
A total of 146 fires are burning across the state, with 65 uncontained, according to the NSW Rural Fire Service (NSWRFS). About 2,700 firefighters were tackling the blazes on Sunday.
"Conditions have eased today and firefighters have gained the upper hand on several dangerous fires. There are no total fire bans in place for Monday," the NSWRFS posted on Twitter.
A blood-red sky looms over Eden, New South Wales, on January 5, 2020.
A blood-red sky looms over Eden, New South Wales, on January 5, 2020.
Earlier, NSWRFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told a news conference that Saturday was "one of our worst days ever on record."
A "considerable number" of properties were lost across NSW on Saturday, Fitzsimmons said, adding that a 47-year-old man had died from cardiac arrest while fighting a fire threatening his friend's home in Batlow. The man is the 24th person to die nationwide this fire season.
Separately, four firefighters in NSW were hospitalized due to smoke inhalation, heat exhaustion and hand burns. They have since been released.
Fitzsimmons said that conditions could worsen again in the coming days. "Today will be a relief -- psychological relief but not what we need," he said.
Fire-induced thunderstorms over New South Wales, seen from a flight on January 5, 2020.
Fire-induced thunderstorms over New South Wales, seen from a flight on January 5, 2020.
Australia's flag carrier Qantas canceled all flights to and from the country's capital, Canberra, on Sunday due to smoke and hazardous weather conditions.
An airline passenger spotted huge clouds caused by the fires over NSW during a flight from Sydney to Melbourne on Sunday. They are pyrocumulonimbus clouds -- fire-induced thunderstorms -- which form when hot air rises from a ground based fire, according to CNN meteorologists. The air cools and condenses as it ascends, causing a cloud to form.
"This process is similar to the development of a thunderstorm," said CNN Weather's Derek Van Dam. "As such, a downdraft forms within the base of the pyrocumulonimbus cloud, allowing for embers to be picked up and carried to form new fires."
The flight deck of a C-130J Hercules is lit by the red glow of the fires below as the aircrew attempts to land in Merimbula to drop off fire and rescue crews to assist fighting the bushfires on