Quarter of KI ravaged by fire as ‘worst nightmare comes true’
A quarter of Kangaroo Island — Australia’s third-biggest island — has been ravaged by the “virtually unstoppable” Ravine fire. A tourist cruise ship off the coast of KI has been put on standby for emergency evacuations.
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A quarter of Kangaroo Island has been ravaged by a “virtually unstoppable” fire, which has been downgraded but remains out of control.
The damage from the Ravine bushfire has exceeded 100,000ha as hundreds of Country Fire Service personnel battled to contain the fire through the night.
Early on Saturday morning, the CFS downgraded the Emergency Warning across the western side of the island to a Watch and Act — but urged locals to remain vigilant as the fire continues to be beyond their control.
Areas including Flinders Chase, Vivonne Bay, Hansen Bay, Kelly Hill, Western River and Stokes Bay towards Parndana in the central area, Stokes Bay in the north and Seal Bay in the south continue to be affected.
Meanwhile a Bushfire Advice Message remains in effect on the eastern side of the island for areas including Kingscote, Penneshaw, Emu Bay and American River.
About 170 firefighters and personnel are expected to fly into the island on Saturday to join the 350-strong crew on the ground.
An unexpectedly strong change brought wind gusts reaching 55km/h around 8pm on Friday and pushed the blaze eastwards.
At least 100,000ha of land – or a quarter of the island – is estimated to have been affected by the fire but the extent of the damage remains unknown.
Aircraft are set to assess the island on Saturday morning.
About 2.5mm rain fell about 4am on Saturday, bringing much needed relief, with 2-5mm showers expected for the rest of the day.
The townships of Kingscote and Penneshaw are considered areas of safety and a 24-hour relief centre has been established at the Kingscote Football Club.
Extensive road closures are in place to allow crews to move across the fireground and to ensure safety of the public. People are asked to avoid these areas as a significant threat remains across the fireground.
For information on road closures visit www.traffic.sa.gov.au.
The 1220-guest cruise ship Vasco da Gama has been anchored off the coast of Penneshaw, and has been put on standby in case of emergency evacuations.
All on-shore activities for those on board the ship have been cancelled in the wake of the catastrophic conditions — which will impact the local Kangaroo Island economy.
Meanwhile, ferry operator SeaLink has urged the public to defer all non-essential travel.
Two vessels will continue to operate — with a total of 12 return trips on Saturday, but priority will be given to emergency services vehicles and personnel.
All passenger tickets to leave Kangaroo Island on Saturday have sold out.
SeaLink managing director Jeff Ellison told ABC Radio Adelaide there was “no problem with passenger space” but those with vehicles would have to wait until Sunday morning to leave the island.
The company said up to 300 people and 80 vehicles at the Kingscote relief centre require immediate passage to the mainland.
FOR LATEST ALERTS OVERNIGHT VIST THE CFS WEBSITE HERE
Earlier on Friday, crews battled to save the luxury Southern Ocean Lodge, where six senior staff sheltered in an emergency bunker after the resort was evacuated.
The resort’s owner, Baillie Lodges, reported the luxury accommodation had sustained significant damage from the bushfire and would be closed for the foreseeable future.
Baillie Lodges founders and co-creators of Southern Ocean Lodge James and Hayley Baillie said initial plans were already at hand to rebuild.
“We are absolutely shocked and saddened by today’s events,” Mr and Mrs Baillie said.
“A bushfire incident such as this is really our worst nightmare come true.”
The Flinders Chase Visitor Centre was also reportedly destroyed.
Hanson Bay Wildlife Sanctuary between Flinders Chase and Kelly Hill national parks, which also provides cabin accommodation, was also hit by Friday’s bushfire.
The owner said many buildings were lost but it was too early to know the exact details.
All guests and most staff were evacuated early Friday while the sanctuary was shut to all visitors.
The sanctuary and the cabins will be closed until further notice.
On Friday, as conditions deteriorated further the fire danger area was expanded to cover the entire island.
The town of Parndana was evacuated with police declaring the major towns of Kingscote and Penneshaw as the only safe places on the island.
SA Power Networks advised the western part of the the island would face extended outage as repair crews cannot enter the firegrounds until it was safe to do so.
Country Fire Service chief officer Mark Jones said that he would be “astounded” if there were not homes lost in the fire.
There was an emergency warning message in place for the Ravine fire which has forced the evacuation of holiday parks and visitor centres.
The Ravine fire is predicted to burn for several days.
A second fire burning in Duncan in the centre of the island broke containment after 50km/h winds buffeted the fire ground.
The fire threatened the township of Parndana as well as rural properties. Resources were relocated from the Ravine fire to contain the fire.
Fishing trawler off the coast of #kangarooisland captures the apocalyptic vision of smoke clouds from the island #AustraliaOnFire #OSINT https://t.co/ZE8DaIL82o pic.twitter.com/go9h5uL76E
— Dr Richard Matthews â™»ï¸ðŸ›° (@rhematt) January 3, 2020
“Bushfire index predictions have greatly exceeded those predicted for today,” Mr Jones said.
“These conditions caused the Duncan fire to break containment and head easterly direction, thankfully aerial bombardment and hard work from our fire fighters on the ground have got that fire contained.
“We will get as many resources over there as we can bearing in mind we have several other fires burning.
“It is pleasing that resources on the ground are having a good impact but the conditions as well as the severity and size of the fire means that the fire is virtually unstoppable at the current time.”
Smoke from the Kangaroo Island fires and windy and dusty conditions in the state’s Far North will likely bring reduced air quality in part off South Australia on Saturday, SA Health warns.
If you are currently on Kangaroo Island, Bushfire Safer Places for you are in Kingscote and Penneshaw.https://t.co/wHVO5lxyYp pic.twitter.com/vOD9BX04j5
— CFS Talk (@CFSTalk) January 3, 2020
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Mr Jones said 412 CFS personnel were in the field battling 25 fires across the state.
Meanwhile, CFS units have been tackling a hay fire south of Mount Torrens, after strong winds caused a flare-up of the Cudlee Creek fire.
The fire on Onkaparinga Valley Rd is causing large amounts of smoke to be visible over the area.
