CANBERRA, Australia, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- A large fire in the Australian state of New South Wales has consumed nearly 22,300 acres of land and destroyed three homes, a fire official says.
Alex Chesser of the Rural Fire Service said the fire burning Saturday near Michelago, New South Wales, has drawn extra firefighting crews to the area in an attempt to contain the destructive blaze, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
"Teams specialize in accessing incredibly steep areas that just aren't accessible by your standard fire trucks," Chesser said of the specialist firefighters brought in to help.
Chesser told the ABC the cooler weather in the area Saturday may help firefighters bring the blaze under control within the next day.
"The weather we're expecting today is definitely not as severe as we've seen in the last couple of days," the fire official said.
"It will warm up a little as the day goes on, looking at some west-southwest winds, however we expect firefighters will be able to continue to work under these conditions to try and get some containment on the fire."
