Plane fighting Australia fires crashes, kills pilot

SYDNEY (Reuters) – A plane dousing wildfires in bushland south of Australia's biggest city, Sydney, crashed into a national park on Thursday, killing the pilot and sparking a new fire to add to 55 still burning across the state of New South Wales. The accident happened as more dry, windy conditions caused a flare-up in huge fires burning for a week in mountains to the west of Sydney, closing roads and entering a valley running down towards the metropolitan area. "It's hard to definitely say that (the worst is over) at this stage," said Rural Fire Service spokeswoman Natalie Sanders. …