Interpac Business and Migration Solutions Melbourne Australia

December 29, 2009

Farmers in parts of New South Wales are pleased after their best rain in years, but across in Western Australia it is a different story.

Farmers in the south of WA may soon be fighting fires after being put on high alert after receiving warnings of catastrophic bushfire weather.

But in the north-west of New South Wales it is tough finding anyone too disappointed at the drenching that parts of the region have received.

Jim McDonald, chairman of the Namoi Catchment Management Authority, says the rainfall is "fantastic".

"It's a blessing in disguise for Christmas and certainly some of the numbers that I'm hearing, 60-plus millimetres over two or three days, has just been fantastic," he said.

The rain was not as much as was first predicted, but it has been sustained.

Mr McDonald says that is good news for farmers and for the river environment.

"It means a lot of it soaks in ... we can use it, the river can use it, everybody else can use it," he said.

The rain is the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Lawrence, which crossed the coast of Western Australia last week.

But WA isn't worried about wet weather today - instead, it is on fire alert.

A large area of the state's south-west, from Geraldton to Kalgoorlie and down to Esperance, is facing the threat of bushfires.

Within that zone, a number of catastrophic fire weather alerts have been issued.

Rick Tyers from the Fire and Emergency Services Authority says people are being told to prepare for the worst.

"I think the message has to go out that the southern half of our state is on high fire alert and that people should be making moves well in advance of the fire front if it should occur," he said.

"We're not saying it will, but if it should occur, then they should be making their fire survival plan, putting it into place well and truly in advance of the event occurring."

Mr Tyers says that might mean changing festive season plans - maybe staying at the beach or cancelling a festive season get-together in the interest of safety.

"It's the holiday period. If you have an area that is on high alert, you know things like family get togethers and things like that, should not be something that should be entertained because it's better off not to have large gatherings," he said.

"If you have to make these moves, make them early and get to a safe area where you know that you're not going to be suffering any detrimental effects of a fire."

A cool change might bring some relief to parts of WA later today, while the wet weather in the east is expected to ease by the end of the week.

(Source from ABC News)