Sydney (dpa) – Householders on Australia's south coast faced more power cuts Tuesday as electricity distribution companies turned off networks to guard downed wires starting potentially catastrophic forest fires. Temperatures above 40 degrees, 50-kilometre-per-hour winds and low humidity made for perfect forest fire conditions Monday, prompting the Electricity Trust of South Australia to shut down some power lines for fear that faults in the network could ignite monstrous fires. “Clearly we recognize that people are affected and inconvenienced by not having power, but I guess the alternative is too serious to think about,” trust spokesman Paul Roberts told national broadcaster ABC. The Bureau of Meteorology warned of a severe fire risk, and authorities banned the lighting of fires outside. In February 2009, there were 173 deaths in forest fires that raged in southern Australia. Over 500,000 hectares were burnt and more than 2,000 properties destroyed. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/135Af Tags: Australia, Electricity, Heat, Power Section: Oceana
