MILES OF FLAMES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 274, 18 November 1936, Page 9

MILES OF FLAMES.

TOWNS THREATENED.

QUEENSLAND AND N.S.W.

SETTLERS' GALLANT FIGHT,

(From Our Own Correspondents SYDNEY, November 12. During the past month climatic and meteorological conditions have been doing their worst for the eastern half of Australia. A drought which has affected many portions of the continent for two years has reached its climax in a succession of heat waves, with theii natural sequence of bush fires and only those who have lived in Australia can realise what these things mean when they happen in conjunction and on a large scale.

As spring merged into summer the growing seasonal heat brought speedy disaster in its train. First we heard of devastating bush fires in Queensland, and the conditions which produced them soon manifested themselves further south. Toward the end of October steamers on the Sydney-Brisbane route could hardly make out the coastline for the dense haze of smoke that hung over it, and the aeroplanes that pass daily between the two cities found visibility so bad that flying over the earth was impossible. Then came news of huge bush fires raging in our own Isorth Coast district, more especially along the Clarence valley, and in a few days we heard of "a great wall of flame on a 70-mile front raging along the Upper Clarence. Before this vast conflagration had burned itself out valuable timber to the amount of at least 300.000,000 fee had been destroyed, and a large amount of damage had been done to pasture land and even to homesteads in ad Fift" t mUes t from Grafton the vi " of Jackadgery was "hemmed m by ring of roaring forest fires, and fo time it was feared that the little town

'ship had been destroyed and that all its inhabitants had perished. Happily this disaster was averted, but the alarm occasioned in the northern district by these terrible visitations was only tne precursor of Similar terrifying experiences through which thousands of our settlers had to pass as the summer heat came south and the bush fires took then toll. . _ ,

Bush Laid Waste. A fortnight ago about five square miles of beautiful bush were laid waste in National Park. About the same time on the Hawkesbury 12,000 acres of bush were burned in Kuringyai Chase, and the township of Gorford, menaced on every side,' was in imminent clangei. Even in the Sydney-Newcastle district, which ustially enjoys a good rainfall, the drought has lasted for over nine months, and the conditions everywhere are such that a small outbreak of fire may speedily assume appalling dimensions. Then came a distinct heat wave —a temperature of 97 degrees m the shade was recorded one day in Sydney and the culmination of all these harrowing experiences was reached m a series of fires that swept the lowei slopes of the Blue Mountains. By November 5 the people living around Glenbrook (the first the Blue Mountains) and s P rl "<=> . fch found themselves face to fa imminent peril. From Spn°S*ood all the wav up to Katoomba and the worth Falls fires were raging; at Jva rajong there was a continuous waH up o from Sydney and by many hundreds of volunteer fire-fighters-put up a gal- , lant struggle. Heroism Praised. The police officers said afterwards that thev had never seen such magnificent and appalling sights, or such heroism as the fire-fighters displayed. The splendid efforts of these men and women fighting for their homes and for their lives eventually held the flames in check, and a fortunate change of wind helped to save the mountain villages 1

from annihilation; but more than 20 homes had been completely consumed, sheds and. outhouses and gardens had been ruined and more than £25,000 worth of damage had been done in two days—to say nothing of the almost irreparable "ruin that has devastated some of our most beautiful scenic resorts along the foothills of the Blue Mountain region.

Of course, all this can give but a slight idea of the terrible character of this disaster, the dangers that threatened and the damage that it lias done. Mr. Macarthur Onslow, from his aeroplane, estimated that the flames at their worst raced over a 100 mile front to a depth of°4o miles, till nearly the whole of the Blue Mountains disappeared in smoke. A conflagration on such a scale is a national calamity, and even though many miles away, was compelled to recognise the reality of this menace to property and life.

Danger Not Over. ~And the danger is not over yet. On November 11, heavy gales again swept the mountains, and Spnngwood and Glenbrook ,uid Blaxland were once more . in danger. Police and firemen were called "up and the terrifying and exhausting work of fire-fighting started This time, however, the people were better prepared. Conditions were more favourable, and the latest report from the Blue Mountains is that all immediate danger has disappeared, [while the drought lasts, however, we may expect at any time a revival of these forest conflagrations, and the most extraordinary fact about these recurring tragedies is that no adequate preparation seems to be made to meet them. Mr. J. C'ramsie, one of our best known pastoralists, who has had- wide experience in the Far West and in North Australia., has written to the "Sydney Morning Herald" pointing out the folly of neglecting such elementary precautions as fire-breaks around homes or settlements close to standing bush, and urging the organisation of regular corps of fire-fighters, properly equipped, on the lines of Victoria's -Bushfire Brigades' and the Canadian Forest Patrols. The "Herald" has emphasised these warnings, and the efforts now being made by the Rangers' League and the heads of the Metropolitan Fire Brigades in this direction may bear i fruit before the next drought comes or 1 the regular season for bush iires stai a again.