Thousands flee firestorm, as Australian blazes burn

Associated Press WriterSYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Thousands of evacuees from two coastal villages took refuge on nearby beaches Thursday after a fast-moving firestorm isolated their communities and burned as many as 20 houses in a third village.

About 7,000 people, many of them summer vacationers, ran for their lives Wednesday night when the inferno raced into Sussex Inlet, about 120 miles south of Sydney, police said.

The blaze swept north Thursday afternoon, cutting off roads to the nearby towns of Bendalong and Berringer Lake and trapping 2,000 people, said local Rural Fire Service spokeswoman June Webster.

The blaze was one of more than 100 "black Christmas fires" that have brought havoc to Australia's most populous state for 11 days, sending up to 100-feet-high flames racing across hundreds of thousands of acres of wilderness and farmland.

No lives have been lost, but almost 170 houses have been destroyed north, west and south of Sydney, a city of 4 million people. Fires were also burning in scrubland in its northern suburbs, threatening hundreds more homes. Insurance officials estimate damages at $36 million.

About 20,000 firefighters are battling flames in tinder-dry New South Wales state.

Desperate officials announced Thursday they will turn to American technology for help, renting two massive water-dumping helicopters from Erickson Air Crane Inc. of Central Point, Ore.

The choppers, known as S-64 heli-tankers, are widely used in North America and Europe. They can suck 3,500 gallons of water into their tanks in 45 seconds from a lake or river and then dump it on flames.

The two will supplement one helicopter already in use here. The extra aircraft, as well as their American crews, are expected to arrive in Australia early next week.

In Sussex Inlet, people braved choking smoke and a fast-moving wall of flames as they drove from the town. Firefighters, mostly volunteers, frantically went house-to-house, hoping to save lives.

"We were in the eye of the storm," said Julie Adler. "We had fire all around us. It was absolutely horrendous."

Other residents, cut off by 50-foot flames that jumped roads, sought safety on the beach and in nearby community club houses.

More than 300 people slept in tents erected on a football field at a nearby navy base.

Later, the fire raced around Bendalong and Berringer Lake where residents also sought safety on beaches.

Other big fires were reported in the Blue Mountains, 50 miles west of Sydney, where many residents left their homes as a precaution.

Officials denied allegations that the blaze south of Sydney was the result of bungled backburning by overworked and fatigued fire crews.

At least half of the wildfires have been deliberately lit since the crisis started Christmas Eve. Police have arrested 21 arson suspects.

These include 14 children, aged 9 to 16, characterized as troublemakers bored during a school vacation.

An outraged New South Wales government promised to punish the offenders for what Premier Bob Carr called acts of "madness and wickedness."

While adult offenders would face prison terms of up to 14 years, young arsonists would likely have to confront burn victims and families who lost homes. They would work on rehabilitation projects for scorched forests.

Temperatures fell Thursday, bringing some relief after climbing above 100 degrees earlier this week. But there was no sign of rain and winds roaring in from Australia's arid outback fanned flames and scattered red hot embers, sparking new blazes.