Homes lost as bushfires rage in New South Wales and Victoria

Bushfires continue to burn across NSW. Picture: Noel Kessel / Daily Telegraph. Source: The Daily Telegraph

• Homes lost in NSW fires
• Victorian blazes almost under control
• Cooler weather expected to help

Homes have been lost as bushfires rage across NSW and Victoria, with firefighters still battling some blazes yet to be contained.

However heavy rain across Sydney had brought much-needed relief to firefighters around Londonderry who had battled scorching temperatures and strong winds yesterday.
However RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said other fire grounds in the state had not received any rain with 17 of the 75 fires still uncontained.
Homes have been lost in the state's south, with major fires burning at Gerogery, near Albury, and Tooma, southwest of Tumbarumba.
"It's fantastic to be standing here in the rain in western Sydney," Mr Fitzsimmons said.
"But the reality is we are not enjoying this weather across the majority of our fire grounds.
"The rainfall that we are experiencing now is fundamentally localised to the greater Sydney area."

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Emergency Services Minister Steve Whan said 10 homes had been razed in the south of NSW and extensive property damage had been recorded in other areas.
"We saw a very difficult day for fire brigades and firefighters yesterday," Mr Whan said.
"We had a very close call here at this home, at Craig and Aidan's house.
"It's due to some pretty fine work by the Rural Fire Service volunteers and by fire brigades defending this property amongst many others around this region."
Three unoccupied homes have been destroyed in that fire, along with a shed full of hay.
A fire at Gerogery, north of Albury, has been controlled but not contained.
Four homes have been destroyed in the fire, along with 10 sheds, a range of farm buildings and their contents.
A significant amount of livestock has also been lost.
More than 1000 sheep have died, as well as 200 cattle.
An off-duty volunteer who was protecting his own property suffered burn injuries in the blaze and is recovering in a Melbourne hospital, where he is in a reasonable condition.
A fire at Michelago, east of the ACT, remains uncontained.
"It's quite a hilly, rugged country so access is quite difficult," Chief Supt McDonald said.
Firefighters hope to contain the fire by the end of today.
Three homes have been lost in the fire, along with a saw mill, sheds and caravans.
Cooler temperatures and a bit of rain would help the firefighting efforts, RFS Assistant Commissioner Rob Rogers said.
"We're hoping, of course, that all fire grounds have had a little bit of rain on them.
"Nothing to put the fire out but certainly to calm it down."
Meanwhile, fire crews are building containment lines around a bushfire in Victora that has burned within two kilometres of the tiny East Gippsland timber town of Cann River.
Overnight rain has drastically reduced the spread of the blaze, which started on Wednesday with a spark from machinery at a logging area east of the town about 450km east of Melbourne.
"The fire behaviour is very quiet at the moment and we have crews out now to assess the situation and build those control lines," a Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) state duty officer said.
The fire has burned more than 9600ha of state forest but no properties have so far been lost, he said.
"It's not contained yet because we haven't been able to build those contain lines," he said.

Swimsuit ban welcomed by British team's top coach

By Liz Byrnes in Rome

Saturday, 25 July 2009

 British swimming's performance director Michael Scott is looking forward to the sport moving on after a vote to ban controversial non-textile swimsuits – but he will have to wait until next year.Fina, swimming's world governing body, voted yesterday to outlaw the polyurethane suits which have seen world-record times fall dramatically.But the ban will not come into effect until 2010, leaving competitors at the World Championships, which start tomorrow at the Foro Italico here in Rome, in an ethical no-man's land.Questions about the suits were banned from yesterday's British press conference so the likes of the double Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington and medallists David Davies and Jo Jackson had to look to next week's event without referring to what is the biggest issue in the sport.In tomorrow's 400 metres freestyle, Adlington will wear the partial polyurethane Speedo LZR suit while Jackson will opt for all-polyurethane Adidas Hydrofoil.Germany's double Olympic title-holder Britta Steffen plans to don the Hydrofoil in which she slashed the 100m freestyle world record despite saying it should be banned.Scott addressed the issue afterwards and claimed the swimmers had been talking about it "ad nauseum" and "now we're here in Rome it is about time we talked about why we are here and that is the athletes".He said: "I am totally delighted for a return to textiles. The sport will regain its credibility with a lot of people. It is the only way to go. If my understanding is true then from January 1st it is back to textiles and today is the day we start to move forward in swimming again."Adlington's decision to don the Speedo LZR is one about which she has previously been vocal and the 20-year-old has acknowledged she may be at a disadvantage. She insisted she was not focusing on medals but instead on performing at her optimum. "So if I do a personal best and come last I will be happy," she said.The Mansfield swimmer has decided to continue with Speedo in her individual races and she will also do so in the relay where GB may be up against teams containing four swimmers who all wear the newer suits.Scott added: "Rebecca is entirely comfortable in the Speedo and she is very confident. Suits come down to an individual choice, they come down to body type, and you have got to look at the distance and the stroke so it's not a simplistic thing to say that suit X is not good. It is freedom of choice."