Stay...or Go?

Fires start early this year...and so far the death toll is already at 1. It's going to be a bad summer, and new research shows that bushfires cause the greatest number of deaths and injuries of any natural disaster in Australia.

For some of the most recent and best thinking on bushfires, check out the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre. There are some fantastic resources on what you should do in preparation for or during a bushfire, including the background briefings for fire managers here.

See also this note on a recent workshop I was involved in, looking at the legal and other aspects of 'Stay or Go' policies and community warnings.

Man Dies Protecting House from Bushfire
By 7 News

A man has died while trying to protect his home from encroaching bushfires, as wind changes overnight increased the risk of blazes burning out of control in New South Wales.

Police say the unnamed man was overcome by smoke and flames on his rural property near Nelligan, on the NSW south coast late on Tuesday.

Dozens of bushfires are burning across the south east of Australia, but improved weather conditions in Victoria and South Australia mean the danger of flames spreading to homes there has decreased.

Around 4,000 firefighters worked through the night in South Australia, where 60 fires are burning.

And in Victoria, a total fire ban has been lifted after crews managed to contain a blaze which has burnt out more than 9,000 hectares in the west of the state.

But in New South Wales, unpredictable winds have hampered firefighters' efforts to tackle blazes which are raging across the state.

Firefighters in the Blue Mountains are urging householders to fire-proof their homes and prepare for the worst, as a fire which has already destroyed 14,500 hectares of park and private land continues to burn out of control.

Attempts to contain the flames by backburning overnight failed, and the state's Rural Fire Service is expecting further trouble on Wednesday, in the face of difficult winds and hot weather.

"It is very difficult," said Gillian Katz, of the NSW Rural Fire Brigade. "The wind has changed direction nearly every 10 minutes, it's making it very hard to predict the fire paths but there are some known fire paths through the Gore Valley that could be where the fire goes."

More than 40 water-bombing aircraft will be working to put out flames across New South Wales on Wednesday, 15 in the Blue Mountains alone.

A number of roads in the region have been closed, and heavy smoke is affecting driving conditions across the area - motorists are advised to take care. The Blue Mountains National Park is shut until further notice.