Sydney's massive clean-up begins

Britain's Prince Andrew tours some of the areas destroyed by the fires

By Grant Holloway
CNN

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- With dangerous blazes now confined to the coastal region about 200 kilometers (120 miles) to the south of Sydney, the arduous task of mopping up after the 16-day bush fire crisis has begun.

At the major remaining fire front Wednesday, three giant Erikson Air-Crane Helitankers water-bombers and dozens of other aircraft are helping fire crews control a 45 kilometer (30 mile) wide blaze on the New South Wales south coast.

The southern fires are currently contained, but they could threaten large towns such as Nowra if expected strong wind changes and higher temperatures eventuate Wednesday afternoon.

State fire authorities are now saying the bush fire crisis has passed its peak, but the task of extinguishing hundreds of spot fires and still-smoldering bushland will continue for many weeks.

The fire crisis, which began on Christmas Eve, has so far razed more than 570,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of land and destroyed 170 properties.

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At one stage last week, more than 100 fires were burning out of control across the state, including two major blazes in Sydney's suburban parklands.

The son of the Britain's Queen Elizabeth, Prince Andrew, meanwhile, has visited some of the bush fire sites in the Blue Mountains region, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) to Sydney's west.

The prince paid tribute to the fire fighters saying the work they had done over the past fortnight had been "quite outstanding".

While the insurance damage bill from the fires is expected to top $40 million (Aust. $75 million), no lives were lost and tens of thousands of properties were protected by more than 20,000 volunteer fire fighters.

The prince, who is in Australia on holiday, met with residents Wednesday, many of whom lost their homes.

He expressed dismay at the random destruction of houses, including eight in one street, and extended his sympathies to those who had lost everything.

Apart from the human toll, the impact on the bushland wildlife has also been immense.

Wildlife officials say the fires have killed and injured thousands of koalas, kangaroos, possums, birds and reptiles over the past two weeks.

At one stage last week volunteers in rubber boats were forced to rescue panicked animals which had rushed into the sea after fleeing a massive fire near Sussex Inlet, south of Sydney.

The New South Wales Parks and Wildlife Service has now begun reopening some national parks and officers are reporting early signs of regeneration of the bush in some areas.

Australian bushland is dominated by eucalyptus trees and other oily trees which catch fire easily in dry weather and burn with great intensity.

However, many plant species in the Australian bush are also dependent on the fires to stimulate re-growth and the burnt-out areas are often fully restored in just a few years.

While the fires are a necessary and natural event in Australia, the expansion of city suburbs into native bush areas over the past few decades has increased the damaging impact of the infernos on property.

For example, Sydney, a city of 4 million people, has extensive bushland areas fringing the city and punctuating deep into suburban areas, often to within just a few kilometers of the central business district.

The correct management of these areas to reduce fire danger to homes while still preserving the integrity of the bushland is set to became a major battleground between councils, environmental groups and residents' organizations over the next few years.