NSW: Firefighters battle central coast blaze

AAP General News (Australia)
12-25-2005
NSW: Firefighters battle central coast blaze

SYDNEY, Dec 25 AAP - Christmas Day has passed with NSW relatively unscathed by bushfires,
despite several blazes and nervous moments when a fire threatened properties on the state's
central coast.

A fire came close to about 50 homes at Chittaway Point today but firefighters said
it was now almost under control and no longer posed a threat to lives or property.

Rural Fire Service (RFS) spokesman Cameron Wade said 150 firefighters and three helicopters
had fought the blaze since about 1pm (AEDT).

"There were a some moments there where it was looking a bit dicey," he said.

"It had the potential to impact on those properties; it was very close.

"But we've got a lot of resources on it now and it's no longer a serious threat."

No property was damaged and no one was injured as a result of the fire, Mr Wade said.

Firefighters tonight were backburning bushland adjacent to homes on Geoffrey Road and
Church Road at Chittaway Point as they tried to bring the blaze under control.

"It's still going but we're expecting to contain it by about 11pm," Mr Wade said.

The fire was clearly the result of "human intervention", although it was too early
to say if it was deliberately lit, he said.

Elsewhere, fire had burnt 1,900 hectares of bushland in the remote Pilliga forest near
Narrabri, in north-western NSW.

Mr Wade said the fire was a long way from residential areas and did not pose a threat
to property.

He said firefighters were battling another blaze on the NSW central coast, this time
near Lake Macquarie, which burnt through 30 hectares of bushland but had not threatened
property.

A fire also broke out tonight at a derelict warehouse in Sydney's south-west.

A NSW Fire Brigades spokeswoman said the fire took hold in a former Bunnings Warehouse
site in Gow St, Bankstown, about 7.20pm (AEDT).

The flames tore through parts of the top level of the building but did not present
any threat to surrounding properties, the spokeswoman said.

Firefighters had braced for a black Christmas across NSW after extreme weather conditions
yesterday.

The RFS tonight warned conditions were expected to worsen again on Tuesday when another
wave of high temperatures were forecast.

"The weather will start to deteriorate again on Tuesday and through to Wednesday, when
conditions will be similar to last Saturday," Mr Wade said.

AAP dcr/sco

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES NSW

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