"Hypocritical": Locals baffled by Sydney Harbour fireworks display in the midst of catastrophic blaze conditions
Sydneysiders were left baffled by a 20 minute firework display in Sydney Harbour that took place in the midst of a total fire ban on Wednesday night.
As wild bushfires and incredible winds have ravaged throughout New South Wales and Queensland within the past week, it is estimated the damage will cost hundreds of millions of dollars to repair, according to AFR.
The dangerous conditions from strong winds and extreme temperatures on Tuesday prompted a fire danger rating for the greater Sydney region for the first time ever.
While total fire ban remained in place for all of New South Wales on Wednesday, there were still fireworks seen over the CBD at around 9.50pm.
The display went on for over 20 minutes, with many locals taking to Twitter to label the fireworks as “hypocritical” and “insensitive”.
“Seriously, total fire ban, nearly 10 pm in a school night and there are fireworks galore going off in Sydney. P**s poor effort,” one resident wrote.
“One of my students told me his house almost burnt down yesterday,” another said.
“Now there's fireworks exploding everywhere in Sydney. Seems a little insensitive, sending sparks everywhere at a time like this.”
“How are fireworks allowed in Sydney on a day of total fire ban? Seems somewhat hypocritical given the tough stance that has been taken against individuals,” another local posted.
Dozens of fires are still ablaze throughout the east of Australia.
Firefighters are beyond stretched to their limits attempting to contain several of the out of control blazes.
The largest active bushfire is the Liberation Trail bushfire just west of Coffs Harbour - covering more than 150,000 hectares with a circumference of 1,000 km.
The NSW Rural Fire Services issued a statement that as of 10 pm on Wednesday, there were 69 fires burning across the state.
14 of those are at Watch and Act alert.
“Over 1000 firefighters remain in the field to protect properties and establish containment lines ahead of worsening conditions later this week,” the statement read.