'Too late to leave': Bushfires threaten homes along NSW south coast

Residents on the NSW south coast are being told it's too late to leave as a bushfire moves towards properties west of Burrill Lake, near Ulladulla.

Image of fires close to Burrill Lake, via Louise Blundell

Source: Instagram

A number of homes on the NSW south coast are under threat from an out-of-control bushfire whipped up by strong winds "unbelievably quickly".

Properties west of Burrill Lake, a small village south of Ulladulla, are under threat and some residents were have been told it's too late to leave.

Those in Woodstock are being advised to seek shelter in a solid structure as the fire approaches.

"That fire's whipped up unbelievably quick this morning under those very strong north-westerly winds," NSW Rural Fire Service Inspector Ben Shepherd told 2GB radio on Wednesday.

People around the areas of Kings Point, Burrill Lake and southern Ulladulla are being told to move into the Ulladulla CBD if they are not prepared.

An evacuation centre has been set up at the Ulladulla Civic Centre.

"Our concern is now given these wind strengths that we could actually start to see embers move onto the eastern side of Burrill Lake," Mr Shepherd said.

"If the embers do take hold ... they're going to escalate very very quickly under these extraordinarily strong winds."

The fire is about 100 hectares in size.

The owner of Burill Lake Holiday Park said they had been told to get ready but had not yet evacuated holidaymakers.

"I haven't seen it this bad before," he told ABC Radio.
A grass fire was also burning out of control in Jerrara, west of Kiama, with reports some properties were under threat.

"It is in a highly populated area but crews are doing their best in some extraordinarily strong winds we're starting to see whip up and down the coast," Mr Shepherd said.

"There's a lot of work still to do to bring that fire under control."

Fire crews had already been on high alert with warm and windy weather forecast across the state.

The RFS has urged property owners to think twice before burning off on Wednesday, as temperatures rise to the mid-20s amid winds of up to 90km/h.

Firefighters were kept busy last weekend with "irresponsible" and "careless" landholders behind dozens of escaped and illegal burns in windy conditions, some of which threatened homes.

Some 48 incidents were reported across the state between Friday and Sunday, 10 more than the previous weekend.


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3 min read
Published 15 August 2018 11:56am
Updated 15 August 2018 4:50pm
By Helen Chen


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