Fatal Bushfires Tear Into Sydney

The worst bushfires Australia has seen in 30 years have claimed two lives and destroyed at least 19 homes in the past two days, authorities said today.

Sparks and ash were today raining down on Sydney, Australia's most populous city, after flames jumped a river and roads and raced toward its outlying suburbs. The sky over the city was shrouded in smoke, and the state's top firefighter predicted that the crisis would only intensify.

"The worst historical period in New South Wales's fire season ... is still before us, not behind us," warned Phil Koperberg, the head of the state's rural fire service.

More than 4,500 firefighters, many of them volunteers, beat back flames with the help of water-bombing aircraft. Residents tried to safeguard homes with buckets and hoses.

Catherine Bourne and her three children returned to their home on Sydney's outskirts this morning before having to flee again as fires broke out. "It's sort of freakish. One minute it's nothing and the next minute it's ferocious," she said. "I just saw flames. I grabbed the kids, put them in the car and went."

Police suspect some fires were started deliberately. An 18-year-old student charged with starting one of the fires was due in court today. If convicted of arson, he could face a maximum 14-year sentence. Other fires may have been started by people throwing cigarette butts out of car windows, officials said.

Early today, officials said a drop in temperatures to around 23C (73F) was easing conditions after days of soaring temperatures, but as winds picked up in the afternoon, so did the fires.

Rural fire service spokesman John Winter said firefighters saved hundreds of homes in the north, south and west of Sydney. "The fire is now starting to move again ... we're seeing the fire picking up and burning toward property," he said, adding that an unknown number of homes in northwestern Sydney caught fire today.

The fires claimed their second casualty today with police discovering the body of a 71-year-old man in northwestern Sydney. Officers tried to reach him late last night but were beaten back by flames. A 73-year-old man died of a heart attack late on Wednesday as he tried to round up and save a herd of horses.

Firefighters have been warning for months that Sydney faced a devastating bushfire season over the hot southern hemisphere summer. The city and much of New South Wales has been in the grip of a serious drought for several months.

Weather forecasters are predicting that conditions should ease tomorrow with cooler conditions, but that on Monday, temperatures could rise above 40C (104F) with strong winds gusting up to 50 mph. "We've got 72 hours to do what is impossible to do in 72 hours and that's extinguish all that fire," Mr Koperberg said.