'Miracle-working' firefighters in control

Stunned resident Ray Ellen returns to the scene of the Carngham blaze in western Victoria. Picture: Andrew Brownbill Source: Herald Sun

A FIRE that has scorched more than 17,000 hectares of bush continues to advance on a town in southwestern NSW.

The Cobbler Road fire was 18km west of Yass this morning but advanced to within 11km of the town by this afternoon.

As bushfires burned out of control across Australia, more than 120 firefighters battled the Yass blaze with 51 trucks and 10 aircraft. 

The fire may threaten properties in Black Range Road and the Ferndale, Sunnyside, Spring Vale, Wattle Valley, Yowerweema, Katandee and Euralia areas.

Yass Mayor Rowena Abbey said unofficial estimates suggested about 21,000 animals had been lost in the blaze so far.

An evacuation centre has been set up in Yass, but most landholders have chosen to stay to defend their properties.

NSW residents in 37 communities affected by bushfires will be able to access natural disaster assistance.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell announced the assistance measures as 135 fires continue to burn across the state.

The blaze at Deans Gap crosses the Princes Highway on Tuesday night. Picture: NSW Rural Fire Service

"Yesterday across the state we faced extreme bushfire conditions and the threat remains with more than 130 fires still burning," Mr O'Farrell said.

"Thankfully there has been no loss of life or large scale loss of houses, however, the bushfires have had a devastating effect on livestock and farmland."

A range of assistance grants are in the process of being made available, including disaster relief grants to eligible individuals and families whose homes and essential household items have been destroyed or damaged.

The bushfires sweeping NSW are another cruel blow for farmers whose livelihoods are at the mercy of Australia's unpredictable climate.

After years of drought, farmers across NSW suffered major floods in 2010 and 2011, and now bushfires.

About 10,000 sheep, worth $1 million, have died in the fires so far, and there is also expected to be significant damage to farm buildings and machinery.

But it is the loss of pastures and fodder that could hit farmers hardest, with existing shortages across the state expected to send prices sky high once the fires are out.

RFS fire fighter Adam Skennar of Tabourie RFS brigade puts out flames near Princess Highway Shoalhaven - NSW Rural Fire Service fire fighters hold the line of the Shoalhaven fire at Princess Highway near Sussex Inlet. Picture: Craig Greenhill

''The livestock farmers are the ones who are going to bear the brunt of the fires,'' NSW Farmers' Association policy director Angus Gidley-Baird told AAP.

Mr Gidley-Baird said if there was no significant rain this summer, it would take a long time for pastures to regrow.

''That means for those who haven't had livestock losses, they're going to have to seek fodder from somewhere else,'' he said.

''But there's not a lot of fodder about.''

Meanwhile, a bushfire that threatened homes at Lithgow in NSW may have been deliberately lit.

Police Inspector Colin Cracknell said the fire was being considered as suspicious.

''There is some evidence this fire has been deliberately lit and a number of items of evidence have been collected,'' he told Fairfax media today.

Tony Abbott prepares to help contain the Deans Gap fire. Picture: Dan Himbrechts

''At this stage the investigation is ongoing.''

According to a NSW Rural Fire Service spokesman the fire, which has destroyed about 40 hectares of bushland, has been controlled.

He said earlier in the day some isolated properties in the region had been under threat, but had been saved by firefighters.

Variable winds and terrain have made the Lithgow fire difficult to contain.

Three helicopters have undertaken extensive water bombing and three dozers are on the ground enforcing containment lines.

And a NSW handyman whose angle grinder caused a large bushfire during a statewide total fire ban in NSW will face court later this month.

The 76-year-old was charged after sparks from an angle grinder he was using near Mudgee on Tuesday caused a fire, which has damaged about 140 hectares of farmland. The fire is still burning.

The man has been charged with failing to comply with fire ban directions, setting fire to the property of another and using an angle grinder without safety equipment.

He is due to face Mudgee Local Court on January 23.

In a separate incident, a landowner at Middle Dural in NSW will be issued with an infringement notice after lighting a fire today to burn off some logs.

In Victoria's southwest, fire crews are battling to get on top of a blaze in Kentbruck  before forecast severe fire danger conditions on Friday.

The blaze began in Kentbruck last Friday and is still covering more than 6500 hectares, including 1150 hectares of a blue gum and pine plantation.

Country Fire Authority operations officer David Harris said about 600 firefighters were at the blaze and more could be sent on Friday.

"Crews have been working today to establish a good perimeter around the fire to prevent it spreading,'' he told AAP.

The CFA contained a blaze that was threatening homes in a town north of Melbourne - but warned sudden wind changes could re-ignite the fire.

Nine tankers and two fire-bombing aircraft battled the grassfire, which was first reported in Wallan, about 50km north of the capital, at 12.20pm.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Julia Gillard described the nation's firefighters, emergency services and volunteers as miracle workers.

Ms Gillard said she was amazed by the community spirit on display in areas hit by fires.

A watch and act alert has been issued for some residents of Bribie Island north of Brisbane, where a bushfire continues to burn out of control.

The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service says residents near White Patch, north-west of Wrights Creek, should finalise their bushfire plans and prepare for a bushfire in the area.

Anxious townsfolk from bushfire-ravaged Dunalley in southeast Tasmania could be back at their properties by Friday.

Bush fire at Carngham. CFA officers put out spot fires at Carngham station. Picture: Nicole Garmston

Tasmania Police plan to start allowing people to return to the state's worst-hit town in stages.

Acting Commissioner Scott Tilyard said an information and registration session would be held for Dunalley residents on Thursday.

"At this stage we are hopeful we can have some people in a staged approach returning on Friday to Dunalley and the immediate area around there,'' Mr Tilyard told reporters.

"If all goes to plan on Friday that will give us a clearer idea of how quickly we can expedite the return of people to other areas.''

Up to 90 homes and businesses were destroyed or damaged in and around the Tasman Peninsula fishing village.

Health and safety concerns have meant residents who fled the area have not been allowed back and the Arthur Highway to the peninsula has stayed closed.

Police continue to search damaged properties but are still to confirm any deaths.

Shaz Harrison-Shaw with her daughters Zen, 6, and Tahnee, six months, at the Evacuation Centre in Sussex Inlet RSL Club, Sussex Inlet. Picture: Craig Greenhill

NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said the greatest concern was at Bookham, and further down east at Cooma.

"We've also got the fire in the Shoalhaven that continues to burn," he said.

In the Hunter region, firefighters managed to contain a bushfire close to the  Bayswater power station near Muswellbrook.

The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts a return to hot conditions across NSW tomorrow, with maximums in the low-40s in some parts of the state's south and west on Saturday.

In Victoria,  

Eight homes and up to 1000 livestock have been lost in a grassfire that swept through Victoria's central west and the figure could rise as emergency services continue mopping up after the blaze.

A Country Fire Authority (CFA) spokesman said police had confirmed that the number of homes destroyed by the 1150-hectare blaze had doubled from four to eight by midday (AEDT), including the 120-year-old Carngham Station homestead.

The number of livestock lost was between 600 and 1000, but losses could increase as emergency services continue assessing damage after the blaze, which saw the farming community of Carngham evacuated on Tuesday.

The CFA spokesman said two hay sheds had also been confirmed as destroyed as well as 12 pieces of farming machinery.

CFA operations officer Ian Morley said a farmer's ute being used for harvesting operations in a paddock was believed to have sparked the blaze, which was brought under control on Tuesday night, allowing residents to return to their homes.

Investigations were continuing, but the cause was believed to be accidental, he said.

Mr Morley said cooler conditions today had brought relief to firefighters who would work through the day to build mineral earth breaks to fully contain the fire ahead of warmer temperatures forecast for Friday.

At least six people, including a Carngham father and son who suffered radiation burns to their face and hands, were admitted to the Ballarat Base Hospital for treatment.

A 6651-hectare bushfire at Kentbruck in Victoria's far southwest continues to burn, but is not threatening any communities.

The CFA said light rains overnight allowed firefighters to take a well-deserved break from fighting the blaze, which started in pine plantation on Friday.

They will resume backburning on today in anticipation of wind changes and pending warmer temperatures, a spokeswoman said.

The full story of Carngham Station.

Full coverage from Victoria.

In NSW, the RFA continues a nervous watch for new fires.

"We will have building impact analysis teams working with locals right across the fire grounds,'' NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said this morning.

He said the bushfire threat was also making its way towards northern NSW.

"Right now we've also got that other challenge today of very hot dry windy conditions causing severe to above fire danger ratings for most of the northern areas of NSW,'' he said.

"We are going to see severe fire dangers extending from the Greater Hunter all the way to the Queensland border and all the way out to our western areas in places like Moree.

"Accordingly we have a statewide total fire ban in place and people need to heed that advice.''

Meanwhile, the Berkendale farm manager reported as not seen since Tuesday during a fire east of Bungendore, near the Kings Highway, has been found safe and well. The 10,000ha fire has also been brought under control.

Full coverage from NSW.

In Tasmania, authorities say the bushfire threat in the south east of the island remains high, despite cooler conditions across the state.

The fires have destroyed at least 128 homes across the state since last Friday, with the damage concentrated on the Tasman Peninsula, east of Hobart.

There have been no confirmed deaths, but police are conducting property-by-property searches for human remains in affected areas.

Confidence is rising that the worst bushfires in Tasmania in nearly half a century could be fatality free.

Police had held grave fears for up to 100 people but now say they have no concerns for any specific missing person.

Acting Commissioner Scott Tilyard said police were still to account for everyone but hopes were rising after searches of 850 sites.

''As time goes by that confidence gains but we're still yet to complete our searching process,'' he told reporters today.

''Until such time as we have then we really can't confirm that no one has passed away.

''The indications up until now are good and we hope that that continues.''

Victoria police have sent 20 officers to Tasmania to aid in the search efforts.

Temperatures were much cooler in southern Tasmania today, with Hobart only expected to reach a top of 16 degrees and snow forecast for mountainous areas.

A watch and act alert remains in place for the Forcett fires, which continues to burn out of control.

The Tasman Peninsula is still isolated from the rest of the state, with the Arthur Highway and several other major thoroughfares closed.

Hundreds remain at evacuation centres in Nubeena and at the Port Arthur historic site.

Energy supplier Aurora says thousands of staff are working to restore power to the area, but have warned residents could be in blackout for weeks to come.

Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings says the disaster is one of the state's worst since the devastating fires of February 1967, when 62 people lost their lives and thousands of homes were destroyed.

"People have lost everything. We can't comprehend that devastation unless we are in their shoes," Ms Giddings said on Tuesday.

Ms Giddings has established an interim bushfire committee to help co-ordinate the early stages of recovery and to appoint a taskforce with a full time chair.

The fires have consumed over 80,000 hectares since last week - more than one per cent of the island state's total land mass.

The Victorian police will be in Tasmania until at least the weekend.

Acting police commissioner Scott Tilyard said more than 700 properties had now been searched.

He said those regarded as missing may have just moved to different areas without registering their details with the National Registration Inquiry System.

"It's important to note that at this stage, police have no official missing persons reports," Mr Tilyard said.

"At this point, more than 2200 individuals have been identified as safe and well.

Full coverage from The Mercury

In the Northern Territory, the bushfire threat is relaxing with major blazes moving away from property and winds easing.

Bushfires NT senior fire control officer Geoff Kenna said that while there were several large fires still burning in central Australia none were threatening life or property.

''It (the bushfire threat) has certainly eased,'' Mr Kenna said.

''Fires are totally unpredictable but what is happening at this stage gives us confidence that property and life are not in danger,'' he said.

On Tuesday 110 guests and staff at the Kings Canyon Resort were evacuated as a fire reached the site, damaging buildings.

Mr Kenna said that from tomorrow staff would commence returning to the site, although the resort was closed to guests indefinitely.

A statement from the resort said there was smoke damage but only limited structural damage to the buildings.
Watarrka National Park was re-opened by authorities today.

Central Australia has been sweltering in recent days under a record-breaking heatwave, with heat records set in Alice Springs and at Yulara, near Uluru.

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