Country Fire Service chief officer Greg Nettleton said the blaze remains uncontrolled with more than 300 firefighters at the 40-kilometre fire front.
Advertisement
THE blaze threatened the towns of Mallala and Roseworthy on Wednesday as it pushed towards Sandy Creek and Lyndoch.
The perimeter had not expanded since midnight, but active fires continued to burn.
Cooler conditions and lighter winds aided fire crews as dawn broke but South Australia state Premier Jay Weatherill said it would be days before the situation was brought under control.
Water bombing aircraft would be flown in Thursday to help local efforts, he said.
He said some parts of the more than 200km perimeter would be easy to contain and render safe but others would take time to contain.
At least two of the people hospitalised were helping to fight the fires.
The clock melted into itself at eighteen minutes past three as a bushfire raging north of Adelaide destroyed one town’s only sports club.
Mr Weatherill says the final cause has not been established but from initial investigations it appears the fire was not deliberately lit.
Eden said the fire on Wednesday had been the fastest moving he had seen in more than a decade, fanned by wind gusts of up to 90 kph (56 mph).
Meanwhile in NSW, a total fire ban is in place due to very hot conditions and a watch and act alert is now in place for a fire burning at Turlinjah in the state’s south. Many homes have been destroyed and thousands of farm animals have been charred.
“It’s quietened right down”.
ADELAIDE – Hundreds of Australian firefighters battled a devastating blaze for a second day that has left two dead and 13 in hospital, with grave fear the death toll will rise.
South Australian bushfires continue to rage. This warning graphic was issued by the Bureau of Meteorology on Wednesday.
Severe fire danger is forecast for Greater Hunter, Greater Sydney Region, Northern Slopes and North Western areas.
Advertisement
Wildfires are an annual summer event in Australia, but signs of rising temperatures have prompted some scientists to warn that climate change could increase the length and intensity of the fire season.
