NSW South Coast / Illawarra Bushfire Update

According to the NSW Rural Fire Service website, (as I write - at 11:00pm, Sunday) the fires in the Morton National Park are "being controlled".
Mind you, it is calculated that 1,132 hectares of bush have been burnt, mostly in Morton National Park - so that is a significant damage to important habitat. This end of the Morton National Park is home to many endangered and threatened species of flora and fauna.

It is also not the place to fight a bushfire - in my opinion.

The RFS Website says:

The fire continues to burn in the Morton National Park, approximately nine kilometres east of Wingello.

Milder weather conditions have significantly slowed the spread of the fire. Today's forecast mild conditions will allow firefighters to attack the fire from both the ground and the air.

Yesterday, crews were successful in identifying major hot spots on the perimeter of the fire, by using infrared technology. This information is enabling crews to concentrate on these hot spots, as part of a strategy to deepen containment lines.

Remote Aerial Firefighting Teams and heavy plant equipment continue to be used to consolidate containment lines. Today, around 80 firefighters from the NSW Rural Fire Service, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Forests NSW and the ACT Rural Fire Service will be working on the fireground.

Favourable weather conditions are forecast for the remainder of the weekend and residents should take the opportunity to prepare their homes, in the event that severe weather causes the fire to breach containment lines.

The Wingello State Forest is closed to the public at this time, for the safety of visitors and crews working in the area. Motorists should take appropriate precautions when driving in smoke affected areas.

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Here are some of the crews and equipment involved in the fire fighting.
These are not "Water Bombers", (there are others which were) but as the report (above) notes, "Remote Sensors" use infrared sensing equipment, and then relay details to the "Heavy Equipment" teams on the ground.
One gets a "buzz" out of watching the Helicopters fly over, (sorry for the Tonyesque pun). But my greatest admiration goes to the NPWS Bulldozer drivers and and RFS water tanker drivers on the ground.

After all, Wingello was the scene of a tragic accident "on 1 January 1998, where an (RFS volunteer) firefighter lost his life and seven others were horrifically injured". Source: NSW Legislative Council Hansard

No doubt each and every person on the ground is aware of the circumstances described here - it was, and is a local incident, after all:
"The crew of the Wingello Tanker sheltered in the crew haven of their appliance until forced out by intense heat. They then described kneeling on the ground in an environment that was still so hot it caused further burns." Source: Bushfire 99 Conference proceedings.
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REAL WORLD BUSHFIRE FIGHTING IS SCARY STUFF, FOLKS.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL RFS CREW OR CFA TEAM, OR QFRS "AUXILIARY" TEAMS.
THEY ARE LEGENDS, BUT REAL PEOPLE AS WELL.