After fire tore through Cobargo on the NSW South Coast this morning, the NSW Rural Fire Service has confirmed that two men have passed away in the blaze, with another elderly man still missing to the west of Narooma.
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NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the deaths in a press conference alongside NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons, also confirming that there are eight fires across the state that are currently at an ’emergency’ level.
Fires raged through Cobargo on the south coast where I was born. These were local businesses until last night. pic.twitter.com/1F2qOWu9Y9
— regrettably yours, matthew. (@thisismerelaxin) December 31, 2019
The two deaths confirmed are suspected to be a father and son, and were found in a residence to the west of Cobargo.
Fitzsimmons said that the fires had travelled faster and further than predicted, and that residents and holidaymakers stuck around the
The Currowan fire, which has linked up with the Clyde Mountain fire that engulfed Cobargo, torn through Mogo, and is currently threatening Nowra, Lake Conjola, Sussex Inlet, and Batemans Bay, has been creating its own weather, with a fire-generated thunderstorm brewing over the area.
Personnel flee from the corner of Princes Hwy and Sussex Inlet. Currowan fire spotting everywhere. Car says 113 degrees fahrenheit , wind immense. Spot fire becomes inferno in minutes. #NSWfires #AustralianFires pic.twitter.com/vrB0S3ZUyN
— BANDIT XRAY (@BANDIT_XRAY) December 31, 2019
The two confirmed deaths in Cobargo now bring the national toll from bushfires in 2019 to 11.
