Australia’s NSW Braces for Catastrophic Fire Conditions

Police block the Old Hume Highway as a blaze jumps the road near the town of Tahmoor as the Green Wattle Creek Fire threatens a number of communities in the south west of Sydney, Australia, Dec. 19, 2019. AAP Image/Dean Lewins/via Reuters

SYDNEY—Firefighters in the Australian state of New South Wales were bracing for “catastrophic” fire conditions on Saturday as temperatures well above 40C (104F) and strong winds were set to fuel more than 100 fires burning across the state.

Authorities asked people to delay travel, at the start of what is normally a busy Christmas holiday period, warning of the unpredictability of the fires as winds of up to 70 kph (44 mph) were set to fan flames through the middle of the day.