Firefighters in Australia have warned that weather patterns could lead to a repeat of the 1994 fires that left four people dead and destroyed hundreds of homes in Sydney suburbs.

In New South Wales, more than 1,000 firefighters were struggling to control 160 fires, many of them considered major, in the Hunter Valley, the Blue Mountains and Kangaroo Valley.

In the neighbouring state of Victoria authorities were planning to drop firefighters into inaccessible parts of the Snowy River National Park to fight some of the 177 forest fires started within the past two days.

Few of the 80 fires started by lightning strikes on tinder dry trees in the east Victorian forests had been contained, Natural Resources and Environment Department fire coordinator Fabian Crowe said.

In South Australia, fire authorities were using water bombers to try to control some of the 25 fires sparked as storms swept across the state.

New South Wales Bushfire Commissioner Phil Koperberg said Sydney was going through dry conditions not dissimilar to those experienced almost four years ago. "Now, I'm not prepared to suggest yet that we could have a situation like 1994, but I'm not prepared to rule it out," he said.

"The conditions are just so dry now that it could cause all sorts of problems."

It is thought some fires were fanned by the effects of the El Nino weather system, which delayed heavy monsoon rains that would have doused the flames.
 

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