BushfiresAustralia: Rising Temperatures, Intensifying Winds Threaten New Fire Wave

Firefighters in Australia are working around the clock as temperatures and winds are expected to pick up in the coming days, threatening to ignite a fresh wave of fires.

Australian firefighters made modest gains on Tuesday, with a brief drop in temperatures and much-needed rain, as they were fighting to control catastrophic wildfires in the country’s southeast. Prime Minister Scott Morrison will meet with leaders of financial institutions and agencies to discuss the soaring costs of the on-going crisis.

NBC News reports that firefighters and volunteers beefed-up containment lines around almost 200 bushfires and carried out controlled burns before winds and temperatures were anticipated to pick up again by Friday.

“It really is about shoring up protection to limit the damage potential and the outbreak of the fires over the coming days,” said New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons.

While Tuesday’s conditions were “much more favorable,” he warned that “we are expecting hotter weather to return later in the week.”

Dozens of massive wildfires continue to burn uncontrollably in the east of the country. Fire authorities fear that two blazes in the states of New South Wales and Victoria could connect to create a massive mega blaze.

“We have no prospect of containment on all those fires, but we can use this time,” RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers told reporters. “They are trying to secure fire lines where they can, to try and minimize where these fires will burn again when conditions do warm up.”

Fires have scorched more than 21.3 million acres of land across Australia, destroying thousands of homes.

The government has allocated an initial US$1.4 billion for a national recovery fund to assist fire-damaged communities.

On Tuesday, the Insurance Council of Australia increased its estimate for bushfire-related insurance claims to more than 700 million Australian dollars (US$550), with claims predicted to leap when more affected areas are accessible.

Analysts note that the cost of the fire will likely make it impossible for Morrison to fulfill his election promise of providing Australia with a budget surplus this financial year – the first in more than a decade.

“There’s going to be a very significant economic impact, but … we want to get money out into these communities as fast as possible,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.