- SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) --
Searing temperatures and a wave of bush fires in eastern Australia have
forced hundreds of volunteers to abandon Christmas festivities to battle
the blazes.
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- Despite using helicopters and water-bombers, shifting
winds are making the task tougher for thousands of firefighters in New
South Wales trying to contain around 70 separate bush fires.
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- Fanned by hot, gusting winds, several blazes have burned
out of control forcing some areas of Sydney's outer suburbs to be evacuated.
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- By mid-afternoon Tuesday parts of Sydney were shrouded
in smoke from a ring of surrounding blazes.
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- Several roads leading to and from the city were closed
by fires, but there have been no reports of any fatalities.
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- The national park area of the Blue Mountains, west of
Sydney, is also under threat.
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- Most of the fires are believed to have been deliberately
lit.
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- Winds
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- Authorities still fear that stronger winds could spark
more spot fires jumping containment lines.
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- Winds in parts of the state are gusting up to 50kmh but
damage to property has been minimal.
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- A total fire ban was declared on Christmas Day for most
of NSW, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory, forcing many traditional
barbecue dinners to be canceled.
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- Fires also hit Christmas Eve festivities late Monday
in the national capital Canberra.
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- Homes were evacuated in parts of the city as fires neared
the city.
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- Flames came to within 20 meters of Government House,
the home of Australian Governor-General Peter Hollingworth.
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- Heatwave
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- Bushfires are common in the Australian summer when high
temperatures, dry timber and gusting winds fuel blazes.
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- A rising mercury level in Australia has also led to the
deaths of five elderly people in Brisbane, Queensland, local news media
reported.
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- Gripped by a heatwave, temperatures in parts of the northeastern
Australian state were predicted to reach the low 40s (Celsius) Tuesday.
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- People were encouraged to stay out of the heat and increase
their water intake as a precaution against the rising temperature.
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- Relief was in sight, with showers and thunderstorms forecast
for much of the state on Wednesday and Thursday.
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