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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Luke O'Reilly

Dramatic moment Australian firefighters are forced to flee bushfire as it overruns area amid 60mph winds

This is the terrifying moment a crew of firefighters were forced to flee a bushfire which overran an area in just three minutes after a dramatic wind shift.

The video, posted by Dunmore Rural Fire Brigade, shows flames being swept across the sky by 60mph(100km/h) winds as the firefighters rush to get back into their vehicle.

Moments later, 50metre-high flames being pushed across the ground, before the road is engulfed in flames.

The incident took place earlier this month in New South Wales, while the crew were in the area trying to protect houses from the incoming flames.

It was captured on the dashcam of one of the trucks, which was left behind as the crew evacuated the area.

The firemen were overrun in minutes (Dunmore Rural Fire Service/Greg Hardy)

The brigade has released the footage now as a reminder of how quickly fire can spread when the wind changes direction.

"This goes to show what happens in just over 3 minutes," the brigade said.

"People are reminded to adhere to the warnings when given from the appropriate services as this is not a pleasant place to be when a fire impacts at any time, especially at short notice."

Greg Hardy, the captain of the crew, described the moment the flames swept across the area.

"We were covered with smoke by 7pm and less than a minute later there was an extreme ember attack and multiple spot fires," Mr Hardy said.

"Then we were overrun by the fire. Flames were more than 50 metres high.​"

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