Unseasonal Australian bushfire branded as suspicious after threatening homes

An unseasonal bushfire in Australia' s Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, is being treated as suspicious after crews battled throughout the night to contain the threat to homes.

Authorities on Monday said they are treating the fire as suspicious given the unseasonal occurrence and absence of any natural causes that started the blaze.

"(It's) not necessarily deliberately lit, there is word that this area is quite common with campers so we have to rule things out like escaped campfires," New South Wales Rural Fire Service Inspector Ben Shepherd told local media.

Two weeks ago, the area was blanketed with white snow and ice.

New South Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service (RFS) declared an emergency warning to local residents on Sunday as the fire, which started on Friday night, doubled in size, coming dangerously close to homes in Wentworth Falls, Blue Mountains, with specialist fire- fighting teams enlisted to tackle the blaze.

Unexpected rainfall slowed the fire's spread late on Sunday night.

RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers confirmed that the fire is burning in difficult to access terrain at Wentworth Falls, expecting a tough battle against the blaze as conditions deteriorate in the coming days. Endi