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Bushfires in the inferno-stricken state of New South Wales (NSW) are all contained for the first time in months, the state’s fire service has declared.
Heavy rainfall has helped to bring several major blazes under control in recent weeks, aiding firefighters who have worked tirelessly since the unprecedented fire season began in October, earlier than usual.
The blazes have killed at least 17 people and ravaged 5.4m hectares of land in the eastern state. While firefighters have saved more than 14,480 homes, nearly 3,500 have been damaged or destroyed amid 11,264 grass and bush fires, according to the fire service.
More than 800 million animals are thought to have been killed in NSW alone, with officials identifying more than 100 species in need of “urgent help” across the country as a result of their habitats being destroyed.
“In what has been a very traumatic, exhausting and anxious bush fire season so far, for the first time this season all bush and grass fires in NSW are now contained,” the rural fire service announced on Thursday evening.
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1/20
A child running towards a dust storm in Mullengudgery in New South Wales
Marcia Macmillan/AFP
2/20
Wind gusts of 66 mph were recorded as a dust storm descended over Dubbo. Storms hit many parts of Australia's western New South Wales
Ian Harris via AP
3/20
Hail covers vehicles in an intersection in Canberra. As well as dust storms, hail and flash floods have battered beleaguered Australian cities as extreme weather has diminished the threat from scores of wildfires that continue to blaze across the country's southeast
Australia Institute via AP
4/20
A dust cloud billows over a street in Dubbo
Ian Harris via AP
5/20
A man holds golf ball-size hail outside Parliament House after a severe hail storm hit Canberra
EPA
6/20
A koala holding on to a tree before it was moved to a dryer enclosure during a flash-flood at the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby
Australian Reptile Park/EPA
7/20
Bushland is seen burnt by fire as rain pools in large puddles at Bilpin, in the Blue Mountains
AAP Image/Reuters
8/20
A staff member carrying koalas during a flash flood at the Australian Reptile Park
Australian Reptile Park/AFP
9/20
A dust storm in Mullengudgery
Marcia Macmillan/AFP
10/20
A submerged car on Gold Coast
AP
11/20
Damaged cars parked outside the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia after a hail storm hit Canberra
EPA
12/20
Golf ball-sized hail at Parliament House
Getty Images
13/20
Aftermath of a hail storm at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) glasshouses in Canberra
EPA
14/20
A fallen tree sits on top of a car at Caringbah in Sydney. Storms in New South Wales left more than 2,200 homes without power
EPA
15/20
Damage at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) glasshouses in Canberra
EPA
16/20
Hail stones outside the Parliament House in Canberra
Don Arthur/AFP
17/20
Storm clouds gather over Sydney Harbour
AFP via Getty
18/20
Hail covers vehicles in Canberra
AP
19/20
Flooded fields on Gold Coast
AP
20/20
An aerial view as rain begins to fall on drought and fire-ravaged country near Tamworth
Getty Images
1/20
A child running towards a dust storm in Mullengudgery in New South Wales
Marcia Macmillan/AFP
2/20
Wind gusts of 66 mph were recorded as a dust storm descended over Dubbo. Storms hit many parts of Australia's western New South Wales
Ian Harris via AP
3/20
Hail covers vehicles in an intersection in Canberra. As well as dust storms, hail and flash floods have battered beleaguered Australian cities as extreme weather has diminished the threat from scores of wildfires that continue to blaze across the country's southeast
Australia Institute via AP
4/20
A dust cloud billows over a street in Dubbo
Ian Harris via AP
5/20
A man holds golf ball-size hail outside Parliament House after a severe hail storm hit Canberra
EPA
6/20
A koala holding on to a tree before it was moved to a dryer enclosure during a flash-flood at the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby
Australian Reptile Park/EPA
7/20
Bushland is seen burnt by fire as rain pools in large puddles at Bilpin, in the Blue Mountains
AAP Image/Reuters
8/20
A staff member carrying koalas during a flash flood at the Australian Reptile Park
Australian Reptile Park/AFP
9/20
A dust storm in Mullengudgery
Marcia Macmillan/AFP
10/20
A submerged car on Gold Coast
AP
11/20
Damaged cars parked outside the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia after a hail storm hit Canberra
EPA
12/20
Golf ball-sized hail at Parliament House
Getty Images
13/20
Aftermath of a hail storm at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) glasshouses in Canberra
EPA
14/20
A fallen tree sits on top of a car at Caringbah in Sydney. Storms in New South Wales left more than 2,200 homes without power
EPA
15/20
Damage at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) glasshouses in Canberra
EPA
16/20
Hail stones outside the Parliament House in Canberra
Don Arthur/AFP
17/20
Storm clouds gather over Sydney Harbour
AFP via Getty
18/20
Hail covers vehicles in Canberra
AP
19/20
Flooded fields on Gold Coast
AP
20/20
An aerial view as rain begins to fall on drought and fire-ravaged country near Tamworth
Getty Images
“Not all fires are out, there’s still some fire activity in the far south of the state, but all fires are contained, so we can really focus on helping people rebuild,” a spokesperson said.
While there were than 20 contained fires still burning on Thursday evening, the current situation is of stark contrast to just 10 days ago, when there were more than 60 blazes, with at least 27 uncontained.
Major blazes to have been extinguished in recent days include the Myall Creek Road fire, which had burned across more than 120,000 hectares, and the Gospers Mountain fire, which razed more than half of that area.
The recent downpour is the biggest sustained run of rainfall experienced in Sydney and surrounding areas for 30 years, providing much needed replenishment to land and dams hit by nearly three years of drought.
But the intense storms and rainfall have been bittersweet. Severe flooding in some parts of the state led to evacuations, while power cuts saw more than 100,000 people left without electricity.
“This wet and windy weather is really wreaking havoc on our roads today, with paramedics responding to five car accidents every hour since Friday night,” a NSW Ambulance spokesperson told The Guardian on Sunday evening.
“We’ve responded to multiple trees that had fallen on to cars, trees into houses and units, and people trapped in cars in floodwaters.”
Despite the fresh hardships brought by the change in weather, the fire service’s announcement that all blazes had been contained was met with an outpouring of joy and gratitude.
“Amazing and wonderful news reflecting an impossible amount of work by amazing and wonderful people,” one person wrote on Twitter, while another said: “Thank you. Every single one of you who gave up your time to fight these fires. To those we lost your sacrifices will not be forgotten.”