Dust Devil Swirls Near New South Wales Bushfires

Just hours before Daniel Loader and his partner Martin Geyer evacuated their farm in Dandry, near the New South Wales (NSW) town of Coonabarabran, on January 9, they spotted an unusual confluence of weather events.

A dust devil can be seen in the foreground as smoke coming from the Yearinan Station Rd, Bugaldie fire, which had grown to more than 1,000 hectares (about 2,500 acres), billows on the horizon.

“The RFS told us the wind is going to change and blow the fire into our place,” Loader wrote on Facebook.

“We have been evacuated, horses and animals are safe,” Loader wrote, adding, “we were very lucky to get out when we did.”

A statement from NSW Rural Fire Service said that the bushfire has been controlled and has been downgraded to a Watch and Act warning. “Crews are gaining the upper hand on the fire,” the statement reads.

The NSW Rural Fire Service also warned of a “strong and gusty” wind change in a state that had 147 ongoing fires with 67 uncontained fires at the time of writing. Credit: Daniel Loader via Storyful