26 NOVEMBER 1997. AUSTRALIA: FIRE

CNN and Nandonet report arid conditions and strong winds are fanning more than one hundred lightening-caused fires in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Winds are up to 60 mph and temperatures to 104 - 115 F. Fires are normal at this time of year but ENSO has delayed the onset of fall rains. Observers are worried about a repeat of the fires of the 1983 ENSO event that killed 76 people and burned more than 2,400 houses in Victoria and South Australia. Sydney suffered its worst air pollution in five years. The drought and fires follow similar events in Indonesia, both the apparent result of delayed monsoons, a delay characteristic of ENSO years. based on reports from CNN and NandoNet <http://www.nando.net>