ACT Rural Fire Service chief officer Andrew Stark. Photo: Jeffrey Chan
As huge blazes threaten NSW towns, Canberra is also facing its worst bushfire conditions in a decade.
The ACT Rural Fire Service has sent about 60 volunteers and government staff to help fight the fires in the Blue Mountains, where http://www.canberratimes.com.au/environment/weather/entire-blue-mountains-area-could-come-under-threat-rfs-20131020-2vujz.html.
Chief officer Andrew Stark said on Sunday the ACT was not as exposed as the areas around Sydney, but the threat to Canberra was likely to grow over summer.
"At the moment, we haven't had the really hot, drying weather that the Sydney Basin has had," he said.
"We had a bit of rain a couple of weeks ago, so we have a little green tinge, but that will recede very quickly if we don't get any follow-up rain."
Mr Stark expected fore conditions in the ACT region to worsen "very quickly".
"In fact, we'll probably see conditions worse than we've seen any year since 2003.
"Unlike in 2002 and 2003, we're not in a drought at the moment, but we'll certainly have conditions where we can see really fast-moving bushfires develop close to property, that threaten those properties and threaten lives."
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