G'day all,
After enduring almost 4 weeks of bushfires, the end of the current crisis came overnight as heavy rain and storms lashed some areas and Sydney.
Here's today's news report:
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Wild storms which forced the evacuation of residents and blacked out homes also brought an early end to the NSW bushfire emergency.
The crisis was officially declared over as authorities revealed that $70 million had been spent battling the state's worst-ever bushfires.
No lives were lost, however, in the devastation which razed 170 homes and other buildings.
NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Phil Koperberg praised the efforts of 20,000 firefighters, many of them volunteers, saying they helped contribute to a "flawless" operation.
A ticker tape parade is now on the cards for NSW firefighters following a parade in Victoria.
"If there is a parade, there will be other things taking place in regional centres to ensure that those people... who can't come for the celebrations aren't left unrecognised," Mr Koperberg said.
Overnight rains helped douse some of the remaining fires burning in the state, particularly on the south coast where 35 people were evacuated from flooded caravan parks at Gerringong and Kiama.
State Emergency Service spokesman Peter O'Neill said a house at Leonay, near Penrith in Sydney's west, burnt to the ground after being struck by lightning.
There was also localised flooding around the greater Sydney area, with about 100 houses losing power in the city's north-west.
However, fires on the NSW mid to north coast were largely untouched, Mr Koperberg said.
He thanked the employers of the volunteer firefighters, urging them to be patient during the mop-up phase already underway.
Mr Koperberg did not rule out buying one of the helitankers - Elvis, Georgia Peach or the Incredible Hulk - credited with saving hundreds of homes at the height of the crisis.
"We will be evaluating how the various technologies, various types of aircraft served us," he said.
"If there is a particular component there that we need to introduce for the first time we will submit to the government to do that."
State Emergency Services Minister Bob Debus said it was a miracle no-one had lost their life in the bushfire emergency.
He said it was an "amazing, dramatic and memorable" crisis, distinguished by the bravery of the firefighters - some of whom came from Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.
Mr Debus lashed out at senior NSW National Party MP Andrew Fraser, after it was revealed the MP lit a fire on his property that burnt out of control in an adjoining state forest.
He could face criminal charges if he is found to have breached fire legislation.
Mr Fraser had publicly criticised the state's hazard reduction policies and Mr Debus accused him of "extraordinary hypocrisy".
"He purported to have a high degree of expertise in fighting fires, and where and when you do fuel reduction," Mr Debus said.
"It turns out he couldn't manage a small fire on his own property."
©AAP 2001