More fire trucks and crews sent to battle bushfire in Australia's Blue Mountains

More fire trucks and crews sent to battle bushfire in Australia's Blue Mountains

More fire trucks and crews have been sent to battle a bushfire in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney as strong winds continue to fan the blaze, the Rural Fire Service (RFS) said on Tuesday.

A blaze at Leura in the Blue Mountains, which has been burning since Monday afternoon, has now scorched five hectares, RFS spokesman Joel Kursawe said.

But the cause of the fire is still unknown, he said.

About 35 fire trucks are on the scene along with 145 firefighters and three helicopters.

"We don't have a threat to houses at the moment but we have adequate crews there to implement that should the need arise," Kursawe told the Australian Associated Press (AAP).

Winds have increased from 40 km an hour to 59 km an hour and are expected to get worse.

"We are continuing to work to bring the fire under control. These winds are obviously making it very hard for us and also making it very hard for the aircraft to work in high winds," Kursawe said.

Editor: Wang Guanqun

English.news.cn   2011-09-20 15:40:36 FeedbackPrintRSS
SYDNEY, Sept. 20 (Xinhua)