Strong westerly winds are expected, pushing fires east and placing coastal communities under threat. Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Services (WIRES) volunteer and carer Tracy Burgess holds a severely burnt brushtail possum rescued from fires near Australia’s Blue Mountains. Crews will also mourn a firefighter killed when the truck he was in crashed on Monday evening at the NSW-Victoria border town of Jingellic, about 70km east of Albury. "Those apps (Fires Near Me), you rely quite heavily on them and when it goes a bit pear-shaped there's not even a mobile signal," he said. A cool change swept through the region as expected after extreme heat on Monday, but windy conditions remain, further fuelling the fires and spreading ash.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 30, 2019 19:52 UTC