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Australia fires live: SA premier confirms 72 homes destroyed in Cudlee Creek fire as NSW bushfires rage on – latest Australia fires live: SA premier confirms 72 homes destroyed in Cudlee Creek fire as NSW bushfires rage on – latest
(32 minutes later)
PM says link between extreme weather and climate change won’t change policy. Victoria and SA still under bushfire threat as NSW surveys damage. Follow the latest news and updatesPM says link between extreme weather and climate change won’t change policy. Victoria and SA still under bushfire threat as NSW surveys damage. Follow the latest news and updates
We are going to leave the live blog there for the night.If you need updates on the fire situations: This site is for South Australia, this is for Victoria, and this is for New South Wales.
There are two fires at watch and act level in New South Wales: the Gosper Mountains fire and the Grose Valley fire.
Authorities are keeping an eye on ember activity in Athelstone in South Australia from the Cudlee Creek fire.
Although conditions have been less severe today, it is expected the fires will continue without significant rainfall.
We will have updates in the morning, and in the meantime, please stay safe.
My colleague Helen Davidson wrote this just two days ago about the effort to save Balmoral. It’s so utterly devastating that almost all of the town is gone now.
AAP has some more horrific detail on the extent of the devastation in Balmoral. The town has around 150 houses and a population of 400. There is “not much left” but we don’t know exactly how many homes were destroyed yet.
AAP:
Matthew Deeth, who’s the mayor of the neighbouring Wollondilly Shire Council, says everyone knows everyone in the small village.
“They were all banding together until they got hit yesterday and they were just decimated,” Deeth said on Sunday.
“Most people were pulled out of their houses and if there was nobody defending houses they kind of just all lit up.”
Residents in the nearby town of Bargo, north-east of Balmoral, were counting themselves lucky on Sunday.
One house in Bargo’s Ashby Close was lost to the Green Wattle Creek blaze, with fire damaging a number of other properties in the street.
Joe Cefai, 50, said the blaze just missed his home.
Cefai, who evacuated with his two young children and a neighbour, lost a number of buildings next to his house.
“It could have been far worse,” he said on Sunday. “I could have easily kissed my home goodbye. To return to see how close it did get, words can’t explain.”
A total fire ban has been declared for tomorrow in the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia.A total fire ban has been declared for tomorrow in the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia.
An update on the situation in Victoria from AAP:An update on the situation in Victoria from AAP:
Bushfires in Victoria’s East Gippsland have been downgraded as firefighters get a leg up on blazes thanks to milder weather conditions.Bushfires in Victoria’s East Gippsland have been downgraded as firefighters get a leg up on blazes thanks to milder weather conditions.
A watch and act warning remains active on Sunday for Tambo Crossing, Wattle Circle and Stirling, while the bushfire at Marthavale- Barmouth Spur is still not under control.A watch and act warning remains active on Sunday for Tambo Crossing, Wattle Circle and Stirling, while the bushfire at Marthavale- Barmouth Spur is still not under control.
“Emergency services may not be able to help you if you decide to stay,” the VicEmergency website states.“Emergency services may not be able to help you if you decide to stay,” the VicEmergency website states.
Fire crews have managed to get a handle on two blazes with warnings lowered to advice across Goroke, Lawloit, Little Desert, Peronne, Burnbank, Evansford and surrounding towns.Fire crews have managed to get a handle on two blazes with warnings lowered to advice across Goroke, Lawloit, Little Desert, Peronne, Burnbank, Evansford and surrounding towns.
One of the fires, the Lexton-Ben Major bushfire in the vicinity of Mt Lonarch, has been contained after burning through 2,711 hectares, and an advice warning in place.One of the fires, the Lexton-Ben Major bushfire in the vicinity of Mt Lonarch, has been contained after burning through 2,711 hectares, and an advice warning in place.
It comes as the temperature took a dip on Sunday with about 24C forecast in Tambo Crossing and a milder 22C in Melbourne after a top of 44C in the Victorian capital.It comes as the temperature took a dip on Sunday with about 24C forecast in Tambo Crossing and a milder 22C in Melbourne after a top of 44C in the Victorian capital.
The bushfires have been burning since 21 November but flared up on Saturday after a cool change came through and brought dry lightning strikes.The bushfires have been burning since 21 November but flared up on Saturday after a cool change came through and brought dry lightning strikes.
ABC is reporting SA premier Steven Marshall has said 72 homes have been destroyed in the Cudlee Creek fire. It is up from 15 yesterday.ABC is reporting SA premier Steven Marshall has said 72 homes have been destroyed in the Cudlee Creek fire. It is up from 15 yesterday.
A total of 404 outbuildings and 227 vehicles were also destroyed in the fire.A total of 404 outbuildings and 227 vehicles were also destroyed in the fire.
Here’s a bit more on what the Australian defence force has been doing to help out the firefighting effort in the past day.Here’s a bit more on what the Australian defence force has been doing to help out the firefighting effort in the past day.
An aerial tanker has been provided to the NSW RFS from the RAAF base in Richmond. The HMAS Albatross has helped with water refuelling and retardant loading for the Currowan fires from the naval air station in Nowra.An aerial tanker has been provided to the NSW RFS from the RAAF base in Richmond. The HMAS Albatross has helped with water refuelling and retardant loading for the Currowan fires from the naval air station in Nowra.
The army is also supplying personnel to prepare meals three times a day for 250 firefighters in the northern rivers region from November until mid-January. It is also assisting with transport and logistics for the RFS in Glen Innes, Kempsey, Casino, Wollondilly and in the Hawkesbury.The army is also supplying personnel to prepare meals three times a day for 250 firefighters in the northern rivers region from November until mid-January. It is also assisting with transport and logistics for the RFS in Glen Innes, Kempsey, Casino, Wollondilly and in the Hawkesbury.
Helicopters and accomodation are also being suppliedHelicopters and accomodation are also being supplied
You can read more about what defence is doing to help out here.You can read more about what defence is doing to help out here.
I am going to leave you in the very, very capable hands of my colleague Josh Taylor for the rest of the afternoon.I am going to leave you in the very, very capable hands of my colleague Josh Taylor for the rest of the afternoon.
Conditions continue to be a lot better than yesterday, but that just means firefighters are having to try and use what time they have to get ahead of what is coming after that.Conditions continue to be a lot better than yesterday, but that just means firefighters are having to try and use what time they have to get ahead of what is coming after that.
Please pay attention to the alerts and make sure your plan is ready.Please pay attention to the alerts and make sure your plan is ready.
Thank you for following along with me today – and as always, take care of you and those around you.Thank you for following along with me today – and as always, take care of you and those around you.
Journalist Royce Kurmelovs has another update from the South Australian fires:
James Tilbrook coughs from the smoke inhalation as he picks through the wreckage of his Adelaide Hills vineyard.
“It’s not good,” James says of both the cough and the scene.
The boutique Tilbrook Estate winery and vineyard is run by James and his wife Annabelle, who fled their property on Friday morning as the Cudlee Creek fires started to burn out of control. Coming back, James says he is shell-shocked.
“We’ve lost everything,” he says. “Our house is on a separate property. My wife, son and our dog left at 10.30 for Mt Barker. At about 11am I had to choose between staying to defend the vineyard, or going to defend our home. I had to make that choice. The result is our house – our home – is still standing, but the vineyard’s gone. We’ve lost our livelihood.”
“Once our house was safe, I went to help a friend with his home. I figured the vineyard was toast, there was nothing I could do there, so I might as well go help friends.”
As the fire swept through, James says “cooked” the decades-old vine plantings and melted the winery on the property. A neighbouring cherry orchard was also destroyed in the blaze.
“We were only a small producer, we make 1000 cases a year but all our stock was in the winery,” James said. “All the barrels of our last vintage. All our wine in tanks. All the wine in the tank is still there, but it’s probably cooked too.
“I got a photo of some bottles that were sitting on top of a filing cabinet and the bottles have melted or collapsed. Someone said to me that the melting point of glass is 1400 to 1600 degrees. It would have been fucking hot in there. Excuse my language.”
James says the biggest problem going forward is going to be income. The couple planted their first vines on the property in 1999 and it will take years for them to recover or regrow. In the meantime, they have a multi-million dollar mortgage to pay.
“Someone told me there’s a chance the vines may recover and come back,” James says. “I’m usually a positive person, but I just don’t know. I don’t believe it.”
Some friends have already set up a fundraiser for the family.
Victorian fire update, courtesy of AAP:
Bushfires in Victoria’s East Gippsland have been downgraded as firefighters get a leg up on blazes thanks to milder weather conditions.
A watch and act warning remains active on Sunday for Tambo Crossing, Wattle Circle and Stirling, while the bushfire at Marthavale – Barmouth Spur is still not under control.
“Emergency Services may not be able to help you if you decide to stay,” the VicEmergency website states.
Fire crews have managed to get a handle on two blazes with warnings lowered to advice across Goroke, Lawloit, Little Desert, Peronne, Burnbank, Evansford and surrounding towns.
One of the fires, the Lexton-Ben Major bushfire in the vicinity of Mt Lonarch, has been contained after burning through 2711 hectares, and an advice warning in place.
It comes as the temperature took a dip on Sunday with about 24C forecast in Tambo Crossing, and a milder 22C in Melbourne, after a top of 44C in the Victorian capital.
The bushfires have been burning since November 21 but flared up on Saturday after a cool change came through and brought dry lightning strikes.
A relief centre has been set up at the Omeo memorial hall, 60 kilometres north, for people affected while generators have been set-up to restore power and services.
Hundreds of firefighters on the ground and in the air have been working across the state to contain the fires, which are concentrated in steep and largely inaccessible terrain.
People are advised to monitor the VicEmergency website.
Anthony Albanese’s office has just released the transcript to the press conference, which includes this line at the end:
That would be the headquarters Scott Morrison held his “I have returned” press conference from this morning.
From my time covering state politics in Queensland, those decisions are usually up to the state government.
You can hear the terror and the frustration in this video.
These fires – they are different. It’s not just authorities saying it. It’s those on the ground, the “quiet Australians” who have lived through previous seasons, but not like this.
Which is why politicians saying they’ve seen smoke haze in Sydney before, or that we’ve always had fires, or quoting Dorothea Mackellar is not good enough, on any measure.
NSW police say a man is missing in Lithgow, following a fire.
From AAP: NSW police say a man is missing from the rural village of Bell after a huge bushfire tore through the Lithgow area, destroying dozens of buildings.
The man in his 60 or 70s lives on a remote property in Bell and the area was engulfed in fire on Saturday, NSW police chief inspector Chris Sammut said on Sunday.
Another elderly man who had been missing from neighbouring Dargan has been located “safe and sound”, the Rural Fire Service tweeted on Sunday morning.
He was found at an evacuation centre in Lithgow which was threatened by the huge Gospers Mountain megafire over the weekend.
Sammut said the man who was still unaccounted for lived on one of the remotest properties in Bell.
“He may have self-evacuated or went to stay with friends and we want the public to let us know any information they have to assist us locate this missing person,” he said.
Sammut confirmed up to five properties were burned in Lithgow on Saturday while about 30 buildings were lost in Clarence and Dargan.
Those numbers include sheds and other structures.
About 350 residential homes in Lithgow remained without power on Sunday afternoon.
For those who missed the prime minister’s press conference, here is the beginning, including where he apologises for causing anxiety:
Bits and pieces are slowly coming out of Balmoral.
Anthony Albanese says he won’t be leaving Australia this summer, and thanked David Littleproud for being “exemplary” in providing the opposition with briefings.
Back to Scott Morrison’s decision to leave Australia, Anthony Albanese says: