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.