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Riverbank catches fire after New Year’s Eve fireworks display

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SA

The New Year’s Eve family fireworks at Elder Park in Adelaide’s CBD sparked an emergency when a section of reeds along the River Torrens caught fire last night.

Key points:

• Fire crews extinguished the blaze within minutes with the help of firework technicians
• There were calls to cancel the fireworks in the Adelaide CBD
• It comes as a number of bushfires continue to burn across the state

The incident came after numerous calls last week to cancel the fireworks display due to the potential fire risk and as a mark of respect to South Australian bushfire victims.

Footage of the fire was posted online last night, showing reeds stretching along the River Torrens catching alight just to the north of the footbridge in the Adelaide CBD.

The incident occurred following the 9:00pm fireworks at the Elder Park celebrations near Adelaide Oval in front of about 50,000 people.

The Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) said crews extinguished the blaze within minutes with the help of firework technicians.

Photo:
Spectators watch a past display of the fireworks at Elder Park. (Audience submitted: Tracey Baker)

Event organisers then allowed the midnight fireworks to go ahead despite them being a much larger and more extravagant display.

External Link:

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The MFS brought in a second truck to stand by, however, the midnight display went ahead without a glitch.

The event along the River Torrens was also held as a fundraiser to assist bushfire victims.

Last week, there were also calls for Sydney’s iconic New Year’s Eve fireworks to be cancelled.

NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro was among those calling for the display to be cancelled due to the risk being “too high”.

However, the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) granted organisers an exemption from a total fire ban and the event went ahead.

Firework displays across regional NSW that were cancelled or postponed included Wollongong, Maitland, Orange, Berry, Shoalhaven, Huskisson, Armidale, Port Macquarie and Tweed Heads.

Bushfires continue to burn across SA

In South Australia, the firework concerns came in the wake of the Cudlee Creek bushfires that devastated the Adelaide Hills in the past fortnight.

Photo:
Scrubland burns at Keilira, in the south-east of SA. (Supplied: CFS)

More than 80 homes were destroyed in the Cudlee Creek fire along with one person also losing their life.

Another blaze at Ravine on Kangaroo Island remains at watch and act level following more catastrophic conditions on Monday.

Three homes have been lost, thousands of livestock killed and almost 25,000 hectares have also been burned in a bushfire at Keilira, in the state’s south-east.

Cooler weather is expected to help firefighters control bushfires burning across the state today, with forecast temperatures in the mid-20s.

However, the CFS is concerned ahead of another day of hot and windy conditions on Friday, which is forecast to rise above 40C.

More bushfire coverage:

• Live blog: Fires in NSW and Victoria still burning as communities prepare to assess damage
• Ferocious blaze rips through properties in idyllic Southern Highlands west of Sydney
• Alpine towns evacuate as firefighters deal with ‘double-edge sword’ of rain
• Bright orange, then pitch black as Qantas flight hits turbulence in fire’s cloud
• ‘Just magnificent’: Farmer fights back tears as ‘army of angels’ convoy arrives
• Eden’s wharf offered a refuge from fire, then police warned it wasn’t safe
• Farmers grapple with how to dispose of livestock killed in bushfires
• Morrison denies Facebook post an advertisement as he announces fires recovery agency
• NSW fires blanket Canberra in thick smoke, leading to orange skies and poor air quality
• Coming back from holidays? Here’s what you need to know about the Australian bushfires

Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news

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