Firefighters are bracing for extreme conditions with high temperatures forecast for next few days

This article is more than 8 months old

This article is more than 8 months old

Rainfall over parts of eastern Australia during the Christmas break did little to extinguish some of the country’s major bushfires, ahead of worsening conditions and a heatwave due to arrive in the coming days.

About 70 bushfires continue to burn throughout New South Wales, despite modest rainfall in some fire-affected parts of the state, while firefighters continued to battle a large blaze in South Australia on Boxing Day.

Rob Taggart, a meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, told the Guardian NSW’s mid-north coast and hinterland had received the bulk of the rain since Christmas Eve, with some areas hitting totals of around 80mm.

But he added that rainfall in the fire-ravaged Blue Mountains and south coast regions had been minimal.

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“Bearing in mind that some of the higher falls are from thunderstorms, which are hit and miss, some locations through the north coast and the north coast hinterland have received some fairly significant falls,” he said on Thursday.

“But not all of the areas of the mid-north coast received that much. Port Macquarie picked up 19mm. That’s helpful rain, [but] I’m not sure whether it’s enough to put out a fire.”

Further south, small amounts of rain fell on the edge of the massive 500,000-hectare Gospers Mountain fire in the Blue Mountains, and on the South Coast, where the Rural Fire Service continues to battle blazes near Nowra.

“Even 5mm through the Ulladulla area [on the South Coast] or 5mm through the Blue Mountains area is not going to put out those fires. It may temporarily suppress them a little bit, but then when the hot windy dry comes through, they just flare up again,” Taggart said.

Nearly 30 of the fires in NSW were still burning out of control on Thursday afternoon, although more than 1,700 firefighters used the reprieve over Christmas Day to bolster containment lines and create strategic firebreaks around active blazes in NSW, as well as South Australia and Victoria.

About 1,400 fire fighters continued that work on Boxing Day when the NSW Rural Fire Service confirmed the improved conditions assisted fire fighters on the ground, particularly in the state’s north.

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NSW RFS spokesman Ben Shepherd said firefighters had done great work through Christmas while the conditions remained favourable.

“The weather has been for once a little bit more in our favour but it’s still going to be a potentially difficult day come next week once we start to see that bad fire danger set in,” Inspector Shepherd told AAP on Thursday.

Two fires, in the Deua River Valley at Eurobodalla and the Currowan fire in the Shoalhaven, were upgraded to a Watch and Act alert on Thursday.

NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) Widespread High to Very High fire danger across NSW today. Right now, there are more than 1,400 personnel in the field working to slow the spread of fire. Take some time today to prepare your property for the forecast worsening conditions this weekend and early next week. #NSWRFS pic.twitter.com/6IEL8qoLYu

Southern parts of NSW began to warm towards heatwave temperatures on Thursday afternoon, as the state braces for another bout of extreme conditions over the weekend.

Taggart said that the hot days would culminate in a cool change on Tuesday, when the conditions would likely be worst on the ground.

“We are looking at increasing heat affecting fire grounds in the central [and] eastern districts and in the south east,” Taggart said.

“We’re expecting heatwave conditions developing and we’re expecting a change moving through on Tuesday, New Year’s Eve. Usually the days when a change comes through they are windier as well.

“Tuesday looks to be the day of the next peak in fire weather with the build up leading up to that.”

Forecasters expected temperatures would reach the mid-30s in the Blue Mountains town of Katoomba, which Taggart noted was one kilometre above sea level. In the Hunter Valley, temperatures are likely to reach the low-to-mid 40s, with minimal humidity.

In South Australia, where a bushfire blackening Adelaide Hills has now been downgraded to the lowest warning level, temperatures are expected to reach 39C in the state’s capital on Friday.

Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) ⚠️WARNING ⛈️ extended to a wider area of inland #FNQ from the Daintree - Atherton Tablelands - Gregory Ranges. Storms may produce damaging winds or large hail this afternoon. #QldStorm https://t.co/CinugnxqkN pic.twitter.com/pLTMMqOzBZ

Queensland, meanwhile, was hit by 620,000 bolts of lightning as a series of storms lashed the state’s south-east.

Eleven people were treated for minor injuries while 21,500 lost power on Christmas Eve and 25 December.

The bureau said storms would bring damaging winds and large hail to inland far north Queensland on Thursday afternoon.

Australian Associated Press contributed to this report.