Newfoundland man living in Australia facing extreme heat and wildfires

Record heat and dozens of reportedwildfiresarecausing states of emergencyacross Australia, and one Newfoundland manis in the middle of it all.

Shawn Lidster of Cupid's Crossing in Conception Bayhas been living in Australia for the past decade as a musician, and says temperatures will only keep getting warmer.

"They're saying it's gonna hit 45 [C] today," Lidster toldOn The GoWednesday. "It's gonna be an ugly one."

Lidsterlives in Kincumber, an eastern suburb in New South Walesabout an hour north of Sydney. New South Wales declared its second state of emergency in two months due to extreme heat, strong winds, and 100 wildfires burning across the region.

Lidster and his band havelostgigs as a result of the weather. His Neil Young tribute show in Sydney had to be cancelled as Australian fire services would not let people in or out of Sydney.

"We had rebooked the show now for this May, but the fires are still burning down there," Lidster said. "That was Nov. 9, and the fires are still burning."

Lidster said he isn't seeing the same conditions as those in Sydney, but is still seeing the effects.

"We're an hour north, so we've been lucky," Lidster said. "But last week, they had what they called the worst situation yet, ever recorded."

N.L. sending fire professional to help

On Friday, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador said a fire training specialist is en route to help Australian crews fight the wildfires.

Joe Russell is joining 30 other fire professionals from across Canada, who will first meet up in Vancouver.

Russell is expected to to be in Australia for six weeks to help, with duties include planning, aviation and logistics.

The province said the deployment is not an extra expense, as the costs associated with the international help like salaries, airfare, accommodations and meals are covered through a agreement between the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre and Australian authorities.

Rain atthe top of Christmas lists

Lidster said one of the hardest things to deal with has been the travelling smoke from the Sydney wildfires.

"One day here, they said it was equivalentto smoking 40 cigarettes a day," Lidster said. "It was thick as fog, the smoke was.And we're 30 kilometres away from the front, so imagine what it's like for people who are closer.

"When you see burnedleaves falling in your backyard and ash all over the car and it's hard to breathe, and then you see people wearing masks it gets pretty scary."

During this period of extreme heat, the country has been rationing its water supply. An extended period of dry temperatures and no rain is not helping Australia's situation.

"There's been no rain. It's unprecedented," Lidster said. "And now everybody's Christmas wishes, they're asking for rain."

A cooldown is coming forKincumber, with projected highs between 21 and 24 C over the next several days.

Wildfires across New South Wales show no signs of slowing down, with 1,700 firefighters deployed across the state.

Rain is not forecastuntil Tuesday at the earliest.

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