NSW: Aircraft battling national park blaze
22 Jan 2009 2:26 PM
SYDNEY, Jan 22 AAP - Water bombing aircraft are being used to attack a fire which has burnt out more than 500 hectares of rugged bushland on the NSW south coast.
The fire, which is burning out of control in a remote area of the Budawang National Park, about 30km from Batemans Bay, was sparked by a lightning storm on Tuesday.
Crews on the ground are working to contain the fire using heavy machinery, while six aircraft are bombing the blaze from above.
A Rural Fire Service (RFS) spokesman said there was no threat to property, but windy weather and temperatures of up to 35 degrees were hindering containment efforts.
"we are starting to see some pretty gusty winds down there which certainly makes conditions challenging for firefighters," he said.
Crews are also battling a fire in the Morton National Park, about 25km from Nowra.
A lightning storm sparked the fire on Thursday and about seven hectares of remote bushland has been burnt out.
Two aircraft are waterbombing the fire, which is about 50km away from the larger Budawang fire.
National Parks and Wildlife Service remote area crews have been deployed by helicopter to construct containment lines in preparation for backburning on Thursday night if conditions allow.
There are about 20 fires burning across NSW as heatwave conditions show no sign of abating, with temperatures across much of the state to remain in the high 30s and low 40s through the weekend.
