Fireballs destroy Sydney homes

Powerful fireballs destroyed homes and cars on the outskirts of Sydney today as 3,000 firefighters battled the advancing flames.

Seventeen homes have burned to the ground since the fires erupted yesterday afternoon, John Winter, a fire service spokesman, said.

Flames engulfed buildings in Glenorie, a northwest suburb, as frantic residents and firefighters struggled to put them out.

“The saves have been quite incredible,” said Phil Koperberg, commissioner of New South Wales state Rural Fire Service. “The men and women on the ground today have performed miraculously.”

Hundreds of elderly people and children were evacuated as flames approached their homes, but fire officials also urged many people to stay put with their houses and hose them down to minimise damage.

A 73-year-old man died as he tried to herd horses away from a fast-advancing wall of flames, television reports said.

Extra firefighters were being drafted into Sydney, Australia’s most populous city, from other states to help relieve their exhausted colleagues.

Prime Minister John Howard also offered the nation’s defence forces to help battle the blazes which were fanned by hot, dry winds from the Outback as temperatures nudged 30C (86F). Howard also paid tribute to the firefighters, many of whom are volunteers.

“I express on behalf of the nation our thanks and our admiration for their professionalism, their heroism, their dedication to duty, and their exemplification of the great volunteer spirit of the Australian people,” he said.