Summary
We’re preparing a full wrap of the bushfire crisis in NSW and Queensland as we speak. In the meantime, here’s what we know:
New South Wales
- Three people have died: Julie Fletcher, 63, in Johns River and the Wytaliba residents Vivian Chaplain, 69, and George Nole. Up to 30 people have been injured.
- At least 150 homes are destroyed and the figure is expected to rise.
- There are 72 fires burning across the state, with 36 not under control and 13 listed as watch and act.
- The Rural Fire Service has issued a warning that conditions will worsen on Tuesday, saying it will be a “dangerous day” and “homes and lives will be at risk”.
- There is a statewide total fire ban on Monday and Tuesday.
Queensland
- There are 51 fires burning.
- Emergency warnings are continuing at Cooroibah and Ringtail Creek, north of Noosa on the Sunshine Coast. One home has been lost at Cooroibah and three sheds. One firefighter suffered a broken leg in the Cooroibah blaze.
- There is an emergency warning at Adelaide Park, part of the Cobraball and Bungundarra fire in the Yeppoon hinterland. Sixteen structures – including multiple homes – have been damaged or destroyed by this fire. More than 6,000 hectares of grazing, agricultural and bushland has been burnt.
- A state of fire emergency has been declared across 42 local government areas.
Updated
On Tuesday the New South Wales lower house of parliament is due to debate legislation that would try to stop planning authorities from blocking mine developments based on emissions from coal once it is burned.
With the bushfire crisis in NSW unfolding, environment advocates are calling on the government to postpone that debate. Protests are expected in Sydney on that day. Authorities have put in place a catastrophic fire danger forecast for the same day.
“The NSW government did this kneejerk reaction in response to pressure from the mining industry to take climate change out of the consideration for new coalmines and gasfields,” George Woods, a coordinator at Lock the Gate, said.
“With the catastrophe unfolding around us in north-east NSW, this is the time to be listening to the people and responding effectively to climate change.
“We would like them to withdraw the bill.”
NSW Labor has called for parliament to be suspended this week.
Updated
The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service has closed parts of the Byfield conservation, state and national parks due to bushfires.
Warning signs are in place and campgrounds have been evacuated.
The following campgrounds are now closed until advised it is safe to return: Upper Stony, Red Rock, Waterpark Creek, Five Rocks, Nine Mile Beach – Casuarina, Melaleuca, Myrtella and Pandanus – and Water Park Point Headland.
All permits are suspended for the duration of the closure.
Updated
Sydney to face a catastrophic fire danger on Tuesday
For the first time ever, there has been a catastrophic fire danger forecast for Sydney on Tuesday.
That is the highest level of bushfire danger, and homes are not designed to withstand fires in this level.
The NSW Rural Fire Service says high temperatures, strong winds and low humidity is forecast for the Greater Sydney and Greater Hunter areas.
Illawarra and the north coast regions are on extreme level, while the far north coast, New England, far south coast, southern ranges, and lower central west plains are on severe.
It’s for this reason a number of schools have been closed. Residents are advised to avoid bushfire-prone areas, and people have been told to go to safer areas such as large cities or towns away from bushland.
Updated
Some schools will temporarily close tomorrow, the secretary of the Department of Education in NSW, Mark Scott, has announced.
These @NSWEducation schools will temporarily cease operations tomorrow - Monday 11 November - due to fires. (Also Huntington PS) pic.twitter.com/oz8RcElfOA
— Mark Scott (@mscott) November 10, 2019
Updated
An emergency warning has been issued for residents in John River due to the Bills Crossing Crowdy fire.
EMERGENCY WARNING - Bills Crossing Crowdy Fire. Fire is impacting on the Johns River area. If you are in the area seek shelter as the fire approaches. #NSWRFS pic.twitter.com/4lGLPB3Ulk
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) November 10, 2019
A total fire ban has been issued for the entire state of New South Wales for Monday and Tuesday due to the dangerous conditions expected over the next two days.
Updated
'We're seeing rainforest burn'
Terri Nicholson is a resident of Terania Creek near the world heritage-listed Nightcap national park.
Forty years ago her parents, Nan and Hugh Nicholson, hosted the blockade that ultimately stopped logging of the rainforest near their property and saved rainforest in other parts of NSW.
She says now they are watching it burn.
“Nan and Hugh Nicholson hosted the site of the Terania protest to defend this great rainforest from logging and now we’re here defending it due to the effects of climate change,” Nicholson said from her parents’ property.
“I don’t even have the words right now. It’s just gobsmacking and distressing to witness.”
Out of control fires have spread from the Nightcap national park into private property on the western side of the valley and on Sunday were heading south. Many residents in the immediate vicinity have been evacuated to The Channon, the nearest town.
“We’re seeing rainforest burn. There’s fire threatening our houses right now,” Nicholson said.
“There’s fire trucks, volunteers. The local fire service is incredible, they’re protecting our home. This is the home I grew up in. My childhood home. My parents’ land.
“It’s quite intense to see ancient, iconic rainforest burn – this delicate ecosystem – and see firefighters here risking their lives and just to see global heating in action.”
Nicholson said residents were preparing for conditions to worsen over the next few days.
She said right now people were responding to the immediate crisis. But Terania Creek was an environmentally engaged community with a history of caring for the forest, opposing gas fields and now being active on the climate crisis.
“There is anger at politicians for continuing to be blind and continuing to support and promote activities that make the situation worse,” she said.
“Anger at the wilful ignorance of politicians who are ignoring increasing risk to our people, our natural system and the economy.
“We saw volunteers risking their lives yesterday and again today. The drought and the fires have now become very personal for our family. It’s incredibly personal having it on your doorstep.”
Updated
New South Wales Labor is calling for state parliament to be suspended for the week. Via AAP:
NSW Labor is calling for the upcoming week of state parliament be suspended so politicians can be with the communities they represent while they battle devastating bushfires.
Manager of opposition business Ryan Park on Sunday wrote to Speaker Jonathan O’Dea to ask that the reserve week instead be used to finalise any legislation.
“The communities impacted by this horrific situation need all the support they can get and we are of the firm view that elected Members can help their constituents better by being in their electorate,” Mr Park said in a statement.
“Members need to be there for the community the next week when the full extent of the damage caused will become more evident.”
Mr Park said the situation was unprecedented and Labor believed parliament shouldn’t sit next week as a result.
Updated
The deputy prime minister, Michael McCormack, had this to say about this tweet from Greens MP Adam Bandt:
I’m deeply saddened by the loss of life. Hearts go out to all affected & to brave firefighters.
— Adam Bandt (@AdamBandt) November 9, 2019
But words & concern are not enough.
The PM does not have the climate emergency under control.
Unless we lead a global effort to quit coal & cut pollution, more lives will be lost.
“This is despicable. The fact is, at this time, as David Littleproud has just said, we want to put this above politics. People who are at risk of losing their homes or people have already lost their homes or pets, indeed lost family members, don’t need to hear politicians coming out and starting to play the same game,” he said.
McCormack said Adam Bandt should think before making “such stupid and callous comments” like that.
“The fact is, the government does take climate change very seriously. The fact is we are meeting our international obligations and will continue to do so.”
(The UN might dispute that though, we aren’t for 2030.)
“Australians get through these because we are a resilient bunch,” McCormack said. “We stick together, we band together, we make sure that we help those in need and comments coming from a little Melbourne apartment from a little individual with a little mind should not be accepted or tolerated at this time.”
Updated
Weather conditions on Tuesday could be worse than Friday, forecaster says
The Bureau of Meteorology says the fire conditions in NSW are expected to remain persistent for most of Sunday. That is, dry conditions, driven by a high pressure system, and south-westerly wind gusts of up to 35km/h in some areas, such as Armidale.
Those winds are expected to be constant for most of the afternoon, however, a change of direction to south-easterly winds is forecast for the later part of the afternoon.
Abrar Shabren, a forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology, said that could change the direction of the fire and “can be a significant problem for firefighters on the ground”.
He said the winds will ease into Monday, but there will be little respite. Fire conditions potentially worse than those seen on Friday have been forecast for Tuesday.
On Tuesday, hot, dry and gusty conditions will affect much of NSW. Large parts of the state, including fire-affected areas of the north-east, as well as the Illawarra, the Blue Mountains, the central coast and the Hunter, and parts of the state’s central west are being warned of severe to extreme fire danger.
“There is potential for conditions on Tuesday to be worse than they were on Friday last week,” Shabren said.
“Very high fire danger will persist in the affected areas up to Tuesday and even after it peaks on Tuesday, so there’s very little respite.
“We’re not expecting any significant rainfall in the foreseeable future. The outlook is for drier and hotter conditions for the remainder of the year.”
Shabren said Tuesday’s strong winds could also bring raised dust to parts of the state’s west such as Dubbo, Condobolin and Parkes.
Updated
Yesterday it was revealed that the federal government was prepared to deploy the Australian Defence Force in order to combat the fires. When asked about this, Morrison said that the response from the NSW government had been “outstanding” and if the state needed more support, the state government would ask for it.
When he was asked about climate change, someone heckled back to the journalist “oh please!” Morrison said his focus was on what was happening on the ground.
“One of the stories I heard today and the commissioner has referred to it because it is not uncommon, you have firefighters out there saving someone else’s house while their own house is burning down,” he said.
“And when we are in that sort of a situation, that is where attention must be.”
Updated
Prime minister and NSW premier visit bushfire evacuation centre
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, and the NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, are holding a press conference in Taree after being briefed by the Rural Fire Service.
Berejiklian said neighbours in the region have to rally around each other.
“What has really hit me today is even though some people know that their homes are OK, they are still extremely traumatised by what they have experienced, by what they have seen, what their neighbours are going through. So just because someone’s property is safe doesn’t mean they are OK and we are appealing to everybody to please watch out for your neighbours, please know that there is help available.”
Berejiklian said it had been humbling as premier to come to Taree and hear everyone’s stories.
Morrison agreed. “I have to tell you as a prime minister I am never more proud of Australians than in moments like these,” he said. “They just show incredible spirit, incredible heart, incredible generosity.”
Morrison also thanked the employers of the volunteer firefighters who wouldn’t be at work.
“They cannot come to work tomorrow or the day after or the day after that, then I would ask you to continue to support them in that and I thank you for the way you have supported them. They will have to be there running their businesses and they will be doing it a bit shorthanded.”
They both warned, as we have heard today, that conditions in NSW are expected to be dire on Tuesday.
Updated
Victoria launches 'how well do you know fire' campaign
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, and the minister for police and emergency services, Lisa Neville, are with Black Saturday survivors today launching a new advertising campaign aimed at getting Victorians to prepare for the coming bushfire season.
Victoria is currently experiencing cooler temperatures and some rain, but it is expected to be a hotter and drier summer.
“This campaign is all about reminding people that fire is very real, very real indeed, and whether it be radiant heat that can take your life from 300m away or ember attack that can come from 40km away, the need for a plan and the need to be aware of the circumstances, the need to take action is absolutely paramount,” Andrews said.
“Be prepared, take note of these ads, and really think about the plan,” Neville said.
Neville said the campaign was about making people think “how well do you know fire?”
Information about the campaign can be found here.
Updated
Some images from photographers out in the field over the past day.
Updated
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned the winds, in combination with the hot and dry conditions, mean the fire danger is very high across the entire east coast of Queensland, and much of the north of the state.
Light to moderate winds, combined with the hot and dry conditions across much of northern and eastern #Qld, will lead to very high fire dangers along the entire east coast and much of northern #Qld today. Latest fire dangers for your district: https://t.co/3IagVpbZhT
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) November 10, 2019
Updated
My colleague, Paul Karp, picked up this heckler while the prime minister was being briefed in Wauchope.
A heckler at Wauchope tells PM Morrison we're in "a fight" and "it's what you see it's not what you believe..." I assume a protest about hopes & prayers in the face of climate-change exacerbated natural disasters? #auspol
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) November 9, 2019
Updated
Freelance reporter Christine Tondorf is speaking to bushfire evacuees in Taree, where the prime minister, Scott Morrison, is due to pay a visit.
Leo Generaux from Tinonee, 20km south-west of Taree, doesn’t know if he has a house to return to. He has been evacuated twice in three days and has been told his neighbour’s house no longer stands, but has not been able to find out if his house is also burnt.
Generaux, aged in his 70s, and his dog, April, are sitting at the entrance of Club Taree watching the pool of journalists gathered for the arrival of the prime minister, Scott Morrison, and the NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, due at 11.45am.
Generaux says he and his wife are now questioning whether they should be living on their rural acreage in the community of 300 people.
“We were allowed to go in on Saturday and our neighbours, waiting at our door, told us their house had been burnt to the ground. We were in a state of shock,” Generaux says.
“We said you can stay with us, but they said ‘that’s no good the fire hasn’t finished yet’, and then in the afternoon we were evacuated again. Now there was a fire on the other side, the east side.
“The smoke was billowing towards us and we got the phone call, ‘leave now’. I have no idea if my house is still there. We left in a hurry, only one road was open. That’s now closed. There is no way of telling what is going on at our property.”
Generaux says he and his wife run a small mango hobby farm, but describes the fires as a “mind changer”.
“The whole idea of living in the country now is becoming a bigger risk than it’s ever been. Personally if we lose the house we will just sell up and move into a regional town so we don’t have to ever do this again.”
Generaux, who is originally from the US, has lived in his Tinonee home for 10 years and is optimistic he may get home today, but no one can tell him when the main Tinonee road will be open.
Updated
“Climate change is not political. Climate change is a scientific fact,” the Glen Innes Severn mayor, Carol Sparks, said on ABC News. Her home was severely damaged in the fires.
Updated
The identity of the third victim of the bushfires in New South Wales has been released – Julie Fletcher’s body was found in a burnt-out home in North Taree.
Vivian Chaplain reportedly died defending her home in Wytaliba, while George Nole’s body was found in a burnt-out car in Glen Innes.
The five people who were missing at the start of Sunday have since been located.
Updated
The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, is holding a press conference.
She says there are still 51 active fires across the state, and 382 vehicles and 1,200 firefighters out in the field.
There will still be poor conditions over the next week, she says, with Queensland expected to have its worst day on Wednesday.
All schools in Queensland will be open tomorrow.
She urged residents to listen to authorities.
“Please, if you get an emergency warning, if you are told to leave, please do not hesitate. Do not hesitate at all,” she said.
The Queensland government will also be monitoring smoke haze throughout the south east of the state, as well as in Rockhampton and Yeppoon, she said.
“I have been speaking to the chief health officer as well. If you do suffer from asthma, please stay indoors. Please make sure that you are monitoring your health.”
There are no missing people in Queensland, and the only person injured is a young boy burnt yesterday.
Updated
It is worth repeating that the NSW Rural Fire Service is warning Tuesday will be a very dangerous day.
“We are looking down the barrel of a busy few days and potentially a dangerous day come Tuesday,” the RFS inspector Ben Shepherd told Seven News on Sunday.
“We’re trying to get as many of these fires under control before the onset of that weather on Tuesday, but look we won’t have these fires under control by that stage, we’ll have to concentrate where it is burning close to residential areas.”
Conditions have eased in NSW today but around half of the 72 fires across the state are still out of control. Hot and windy conditions from the west will travel east across Monday into Tuesday, and that is when it will be the hottest, with low humidity, making it extremely dangerous.
Shepherd said areas not currently affected by fires, including in the Sydney region as well as the Illawarra, could be in danger on Tuesday.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, and NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, are in Wauchope this morning being briefed by the Rural Fire Service.
Updated
The situation in Queensland, via AAP:
Massive bushfires that have destroyed houses, sheds and cars and forced thousands to flee their homes continue to burn in Queensland.
Fifty-five fires were burning in the state on Sunday morning, including the huge fire at Cooroibah, north of Noosa, where an emergency zone remains.
One house has been lost at Cooroibah on the Sunshine Coast along with three sheds, cars and wildlife.
Multiple homes were also reportedly lost over night north of Rockhampton when a fire tore through Cobraball and nearby Bungundarra.
Fire and emergency services can’t confirm that until assessment teams enter the area.
Thousands have people have been evacuated from the paths of the fires burning in Queensland.
Some estimates say up to 9,000 were evacuated from suburbs at the northern end of Noosa due to the Cooroibah fire.
Brian Williams, 61, says his shed and several cars on his block on Lake Cooroibah Road were destroyed on Friday.
He was out but his 18-year-old son, Beau, was studying at home and called his father.
“He said ‘hey dad, the fire is right on us’,” Mr Williams told the ABC.
“He couldn’t get the fire pump going, it was all panic.
“He said, ‘listen, I have to go’, and as he is going, trees were exploding around him and embers were flying over and kangaroos were running alongside him.”
A firefighter suffered a broken leg but no lives have been lost or other injuries reported.
The winds and hot and dry conditions that have stoked blazes are set to continue on Sunday, ease on Monday, and worsen on Tuesday, challenging crews and people battling to save their homes.
The emergency warnings for Cobraball and nearby Bungundarra have eased but people are warned to be on the alert because conditions could get worse.
They face an anxious wait to see if their homes are still standing because they can’t return until it is safe to do so.
Red Cross Queensland emergency services manager Colin Sivalingum said it was a traumatic time for people in evacuation centres.
“Most people just want to go back home to see what’s actually happening. That’s making them very anxious. That’s what they’re telling us,” he told the ABC.
A state of fire emergency was declared on Saturday in 42 local government areas, prohibiting all outdoor fires and activities such as welding that can spark fires.
People were also told to evacuate ahead of bushfires at Tarome in the Scenic Rim west of the Gold Coast and Thornton in the Lockyer Valley on Saturday but those warnings have been downgraded.
People have been warned not to return to their homes until it is safe to do so.
Authorities say swathes of bushland parched by drought have increased the risk of fires breaking out.
Almost 100,000 hectares and 19 homes have been destroyed in Queensland since the start of September, with 2,000 bushfires burning since then.
Updated
The NSW Rural Fire Service reports all those who were reported missing have been found.
Updated
The NSW Rural Fire Service is warning people not to get complacent despite the easing conditions today, given the worsening conditions in the next few days. Smoke haze is also a major issue in fire-affected areas.
THRUMSTER: The Oxley Hwy is open, but there's a reduced speed limit of 60km/h btn John Oxley Dr (western end) and Wrights Rd. Take care and slow down. Remember, conditions can change quickly. pic.twitter.com/4TmaZx7GtP
— Live Traffic NSW (@LiveTrafficNSW) November 9, 2019
You can get a sense of the amount of smoke from this graphic from the Bureau of Meteorology.
Smoke haze from fires in the North East of #NSW are travelling across the Tasman Sea & over the Pacific Ocean. High to Very High fire danger in the North East of #NSW today. For the latest updates visit https://t.co/SPHgGeisGZ & #NSWRFS pic.twitter.com/rXIUdDGYd8
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) November 9, 2019
Updated
The opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, has told Insiders he offered to go to fire-affected areas when he spoke with the prime minister yesterday and would visit those areas if it was appropriate to do so.
“To have fatalities, to have so many people missing… my heart goes out to them”
— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) November 9, 2019
Opposition Leader @AlboMP talks to @frankelly08 about the bushfires raging across NSW and Queensland.#Insiders #auspol pic.twitter.com/niBEISUv8o
Updated
Meanwhile in Western Australia, it appears a bushfire in Gnangara has eased overnight, after homes were damaged and two people from a nearby retirement village were taken to hospital. Information on the latest conditions in WA can be found here.
Government announces disaster recovery payments are available
David Littleproud, the minister for natural disaster and emergency management, is on the ABC announcing that disaster recovery payments of $1,000 for adults and $400 for children will be made available through Centrelink for people affected by the fires in Queensland and New South Wales from midday today.
“We say to those people – please do not self-assess, make the call to Centrelink and they will be able to support you even if you lost everything. If you don’t have any identification, you don’t have any of your bankcards or anything, we’ll get you one,” he said.
He said Centrelink would attempt to get buses up to the Gold Coast hinterland and Port Macquarie to support people in those areas.
When asked whether the fires were a wake-up call for the federal government to develop proper plans for resourcing to fight fires, Littleproud said the government had been prepared.
“We have been ready for these fires – we predicted they would be earlier this year because of the research work that the state and federal governments have done together, putting aside politics,” he said.
“We’ll continue to work that way, to make sure our investments give us the best science, the best technology we need and then also equip our firefighters with the best tools. We’ve got the best firefighters in the world and our job as federal and state governments is to support them with the science and the tools to be able to fight fires and keep us all safe.”
Updated
The NSW rural fire service deputy commissioner, Rob Rogers, told the ABC on Sunday morning that the focus for Sunday is on fires on the north coast of the state. He said the fires are likely to flare up again on Tuesday when conditions are worse, and will threaten properties again.
He said areas on the north coast where there are already fires will be the biggest concern with strong westerly winds and low humidity on Tuesday.
There aren’t any fires in the Sydney, Illawarra and central west areas at the moment, but Rogers said on Tuesday those areas would be a major concern. He said the RFS was looking at how best to deploy resources, as well as keep people in those areas informed to ensure they’re ready on Tuesday.
He said there should be an update on the reported five missing people later this morning.
Updated
Despite all the fires raging throughout the state, there is no total fire ban in New South Wales. The Rural Fire Service says it is using the slightly improved conditions today to strengthen containment lines before it gets worse in the next few days.
Although there are no total fire bans in place today, there are 4 areas with Very High fire danger in north-east NSW.
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) November 9, 2019
Crews will use more favourable conditions today to strengthen containment lines ahead of elevated fire dangers in coming days. #nswrfs pic.twitter.com/53Q0jYrlH9
Updated
And in Queensland, there has been a state of emergency declared across half the state, with 42 local government areas affected by fires as of Sunday, from the Gold Coast up to Townsville. Around 5,000 homes have been evacuated and one home reportedly destroyed.
You can see the affected areas and the declaration here.
Updated
What we know
Good morning, we will continue to follow the ongoing fire crises in New South Wales and Queensland today. For those in fire-affected areas, please listen to your local emergency broadcaster, and follow instructions from fire crews and authorities. There are multiple warnings still current and the situation remains volatile. See online updates for New South Wales and Queensland.
- There are 72 fires burning across New South Wales as of Sunday morning, 36 of which are out of control. Eleven fires remain at watch and act.
- Conditions are expected to worsen over the next few days, including a “potentially dangerous day” on Tuesday, according to NSW rural fire service inspector Ben Shepherd.
- Three people have been killed, with seven reported missing.
- Wytaliba resident Vivian Chaplain, 69, has been confirmed as one of the victims, while an elderly man in Wytaliba is believed to be the second victim, and a body was found in a home in North Taree
- 150 homes have been destroyed, with that tally expected to go up significantly as assessment teams go through the affected areas.
- Some fire stations have also been destroyed
- South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania are sending fire crews to NSW.
- NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and prime minister Scott Morrison will visit affected communities on Sunday.
- About 2,000 people have evacuated to 15 evacuation centres set up.
Updated
