Australia’s Capital Lifts State of Emergency as Fire Threat Subsides

A firefighter from a local brigade works to extinguish flames after a bushfire burnt through the area in Bredbo, New South Wales, Australia, on Feb. 2, 2020. Loren Elliott/Reuters

SYDNEY/MELBOURNE—Wildfires that threatened Australia’s capital, Canberra, over the weekend have been brought under control as containment lines held and hot and windy conditions eased, prompting authorities to lift a state of emergency.

While fire in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), home to the capital city, has spread to more than 55,000 hectares (136,000 acres), close to a quarter of the territory’s entire landmass, the heat fueling the danger is subsiding.