NSW: National parks and reserves closed because of bushfires

AAP General News (Australia)
12-26-2001
NSW: National parks and reserves closed because of bushfires

SYDNEY, Dec 26 AAP - The bushfires raging across NSW have forced the closure of a number
of the state's national parks.

While the extreme weather conditions prevailed, remote activities like bushwalking
and camping were also not permitted in any national park or reserve in NSW, the National
Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) said.

All parks and reserves in the greater Sydney metropolitan area, the Illawarra region,
Blue Mountains and the Central Coast would be closed until further notice, the NPWS said.

In the north, the southern section of the Yuraygir National Park is closed, so are
the Bundjalung and Nightcap National Parks.

Parks and reserves in the state's south, including Bungonia, Barren Grounds, Jervis
Bay, Morton and Deua were also closed to the public.

NPWS director general Brian Gilligan said thousands of people had been evacuated from
a number of national parks around the state over the last few days.

Three thousand visitors were evacuated from the Royal National Park in Sydney yesterday
as fires flared around the reserve.

Mr Gilligan warned people not to venture into any national park unless they had been
told it was safe to do so.

The NPWS reported significant damage to the Blue Mountains National Park during yesterday's
raging fires, which jumped the Nepean River in several places.

There had also been significant property loss around Bents Basin, a popular picnic
spot on the Nepean River west of Sydney, Mr Gilligan said.

AAP sp/rhp/arb/ldj/br

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES NSW NPWS

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