Australia in shock after 'black Christmas'

Plumes of grey smoke continued to rise above Sydney from the bush fires that have burnt out of control across eastern Australia for two weeks. But 4cm of rain last night in the Blue Mountains, 50 miles west of the city, wiped out the most threatening fires as temperatures once more rose into the high 30s today.

Millions of gum trees stand with blackened trunks amidst swathes of burnt brown earth in the world heritage listed area and across the national parks, which surround Australia's largest city.

Large blazes continued to burn in the hilly countryside 100 miles south of Sydney, but few homes are now directly at risk.

Some weary volunteer firefighters were today sent back to other states as the threat recedes. But fire chiefs today warned that the danger was not completely over and said they were using infra-red imaging technology to trace fires that continued to burn underground, among tree roots untouched by last night's rain.

It is the driest inhabited continent in the world and has regularly been scorched by fire throughout its history, but Australia has been shocked by the severity of its "black Christmas".

The Australian media have mentioned little else but fire for two weeks. The coverage has sparked a raging public debate about what to do with the arsonists many believe are responsible for starting most of the blazes.

The authorities' response to the fires has been twofold. The federal government has placed its trust in technology, announcing a plan to buy more specialist firefighting helicopters.

The unlikely hero of the blazes has been Elvis, a large orange US-made chopper whose capacity to scoop up and dump 9,000 litres of water on the blazes in minutes was credited with saving many suburban streets.

The state government is also concentrating on the arsonists, setting up a special investigative unit and fleshing out details of how to punish arsonists. All but a couple of those caught lighting fires have been teenage boys, many of whom will face a "counselling" system where they are forced to confront victims of fire, such as burns victims, and help clear up the charred streets of outer Sydney.

There has also been public anger directed against the national parks service for not allowing more controlled "burning off" of undergrowth to reduce the threat of fires in the wilderness areas surrounding Sydney.

But as John Schauble in the Melbourne Age argued today, these responses only reflect Australia's failure to come to terms with its coexistence with fire.

"Fire is something that 85% of city and suburb-dwelling Australians associate with the dangerous inhospitable bushland. This stereotypical land of deserts and Crocodile Dundee remains as scary and foreign to many Australians as it does to visiting tourists.

"Until Australians pause to think about and embrace fire as part of our environment, no headway will be made in how to come to terms with it," said Schauble.

There has been little reflection about the sense that fire comes with living in the bush, and is an important part of many ecosystems. Australians are simply caught setting up their homes in the way of an unstoppable natural force.

The focus on preventing arson, deploying better technology to fight fires and permitting more "burning off" might help ameliorate future fires.

Nevertheless, as some firefighters have pointed out, they will never be able to stop the blazes that naturally ignite across the country every summer.

The colossal firefighting effort has, however, saved lives and homes - at least for another year. Miraculously, no one has died from the fires.

And whilst the danger from the bush fires continues to haunt many Australians, the fatal toll from a more mundane, entirely man-made hazard was released today: 62 people died on Australia's roads during the Christmas holiday.