January 9, 2002	Wednesday	Shawwal 24, 1422

SYDNEY, Jan 8: The two weeks’ old bushfires in the most populous Australian state of New South Wales, that had almost reached Sydney fringes a few days ago, are still burning.

Although Monday’s heavy rain has helped bringing fires under control in some parts of the state, the situation remains dangerous and 80 fires are still burning in different parts of NSW, where more than 150 houses were burnt down and several thousand people forced to evacuate their homes.

The state government has spent one million dollars to airlift two special firefighting helicopters from Oregon, the USA. The giant water bombing heli-tankers, ‘Georgia Peach’ and ‘The Incredible Hulk’, can dump 9000 liters of water each at one time.

The Erickson made heli-tankers arrived on Monday at Sydney airport, aboard a Russian Antonov cargo carrier and were led into business immediately.

Rural Fire Services Commissioner Phil Koperberg admits that shifting winds have overcome the backburning strategy of containing the fires.

Bushfires are the regular features of Australian summer but this year’s fires, that started on the Christmas eve, are the biggest since January 1994, when fires had reached some Sydney suburbs in the north.

This year, the total fire perimeter is said to be more than 3050 kms and has burnt more than 560,000 hectares of land. The fires have already cost an estimated A$70 million, more than the 1994 outbreaks, and is expected to go up as fires are still spreading.

The tourism industry in New South Wales has suffered massive financial losses as a result of the bushfires. A spokesman for the Tourism Task Force says The Hunter Valley, Jarvis Bay and the Blue Mountains, the popular tourist centres, are among the areas heavily hit as a result of fires and road closures.

The latest outbreak of bushfires in South Coast towns and resorts, where more than 2500 residents were evacuated on Monday, is causing concern for the firefighters.

The evacuation was the largest since last Wednesday when 5000 were moved out of Blue Mountains, the popular summer resort, west of Sydney. The fire has led to the closure of the Princess Highway, the main artery running through south of the country.