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FIREFIGHTERS HAVE BEEN racing to tame an enormous blaze in southeastern Australia today, with officials warning it could merge with others to create a “mega-fire” as weather conditions worsen.
Crews have been battling fires that flared in high winds and searing heat across the state of New South Wales last week with more than 200 homes so far destroyed and many others damaged.
While dozens of fires have been contained, 56 were still alight and 12 of them out of control, enveloping Sydney in a thick white smoke haze.
The main concern today has been near the town of Lithgow west of Sydney where a huge fire that has already burned nearly 40,000 hectares has been threatening the communities of Bilpin, Bell, Clarence and Dargan.
Officials fear intensifying heat and winds expected tomorrow and on Wednesday could push it into another blaze at nearby Mount Victoria in the Blue Mountains and then move towards the populated areas of Katoomba and Leura.
“I don’t think I’ve ever used the word mega-fire,” said Fitzsimmons.
“But the reality is that the modelling indicates that there’s every likelihood that in the forecast weather conditions that these two fires, particularly up in the back end of the mountains, will merge at some point.”
Firefighters spent the night building containment lines to try and prevent this happening ahead of a predicted deterioration of weather conditions.
But the fire chief played down earlier suggestions that all communities in the Blue Mountains, where 76,000 people live, could be evacuated.
“We are not planning a mass evacuation of the Blue Mountains community,” he said.
Instead authorities were taking “a very deliberate, a very considered, a very targeted approach to securing and protecting all the communities.”
An emergency warning has been issued for the Blue Mountains village of Bell, where residents were urged to evacuate due to the immediate threat of fire.
Other township residents were told to shelter in their homes or warned that they faced several days of isolation without electricity.
Amid the worst fire disaster in the state for nearly 50 years, New South Wales declared a state of emergency yesterday, which gives firefighters the power to forcibly evacuate people from their homes, with penalties for refusing.
Emergency Services Minister Mike Gallacher said every possible resource was being used, including firefighters being drafted in from interstate and the possibility that the military could also be deployed.
“Everything is being thrown at this, I can assure you,” he said.
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9 of the 12 Irish MEPs supported the position of the Irish Air Line Pilots Association.
Europe has disregarded the advice of its own scientific advisors, and missed out on an opportunity to produce scientifically based rules in favour of commercial interests.
It’s a sad day for aviation safety!
I thought pilots could only fly a maximum of 900 hours per year , why does the above say a reduction from 1300 hours to 1000 hours?
What was advice?
Does this not mean shorter working year for pilots? Good for FTE bad for contract?
Once again those unaccountable pen pushers delve into industries they know nothing about, this is bad for passengers and pilots alike. The winners are arsehole airline management who will award themselves bonuses and politicians creating busywork for themselves. All the scientifically based rest and ftl rules go in the bin.
Pilot can fly for 11 hours, truck driver can only drive a max of 10. Somethings not well thought out.
but in fairness no auto pilot on a truck and only one driver
At least if a truck has an emergency just pull over to the side of the road not the same for aircraft . And some air operations are single pilot.
And a doctor can work for 36 hours.
Commercial airlines have few single pilot. Do ialpa want hours flying even lower … is that why they object?
If you understood what commercial flying is, you would know that all commercial pilots operating with companies with an AOC are bound by JAR-FCL which is the same as airline pilots.
You are correct I don’t know the technical definition of commercial as I don’t work in the industry. But as a layman reading the article my take is that iapla want even further reductions and restrictions on flying time which would require more pilots to run a schedule. No doubt a pay cut isn’t part of their plans. Contract pilots likely to increase at progressive airlines. One layman’s view only.
Have the airline pilots been asked for their opinion on the rule changes and if not why not, judging by their negative reaction it seems not, but now the EU have once again gone ahead and changed the rules without consultation.
So the cost will just go up
What people have to remember regarding pilots hours is they are calculated from off blocks (plane pushed off stand) to on blocks plane arrives at the gate.
You then need to factor in taxi delays ATC flow restrictions,Turn around times of the aircraft and also the pre flight which normally is 1 hour prior to departure+post flight debriefing.
Worst case: try driving your family laden car up rough slippery track into your unlit garage at speed on a dark wet night after 11 hours on the road…
I hope the people that brought this in will be on board when the accident happens, pure madness
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