Fire crews protect Braidwood from damage, fire downgraded
The hard work of fireys has saved homes and property in Braidwood and weaker than expected winds have downgraded the bushfire to watch and act.
Canberra Star
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The tireless efforts of fire crews around Braidwood overnight have seen the town spared any damage, and weaker than expected winds have seen the massive North Black Range fire downgraded.
The fire was in the early hours of Saturday downgraded to “watch and act” status, having earlier jumped the Shoalhaven River and moved to within 1km of Braidwood.
Property damage in the hamlets of Bombay and Little Bombay was limited to a handful of sheds.
No homes were reported damaged or destroyed.
By Saturday morning, the fire had burnt 19,000ha of the Tallaganda National Park and surrounding farmland.
A southerly front which forecasters feared could have fanned the fire overnight did not bring with it the strong wind gusts fire crews had feared.
The Bureau of Meteorology was forecasting likely rain on Saturday afternoon, although any rain will likely be accompanied by a change in wind.
The RFS on Saturday morning said the fire was not posing an immediate threat to property on and was moving slowly in all directions.
Crews were expected to spend the day setting up containment lines and protecting properties most under threat.
The Kings Hwy, north of the fire, remained closed on Saturday morning, resulting in major detours for motorists travelling between Canberra and Batemans Bay. Cooma Rd was also closed south of Braidwood.
A smoke haze from the fire blanketed the region as far afield as Goulburn and Canberra.
Braidwood was on Friday night bracing for a possible ember attack as fire crews fought to contain the massive North Black Range Fire, which had crossed firebreaks had begun cutting across dry paddocks towards town.
The fire is believed to have began with a lightning strike on Tuesday, and had burnt “out of control” but contained to a virtually-inaccessible patch of the Tallaganda National Park between Queanbeyan and Braidwood.
RFS crews had by Friday afternoon pulled back from the national park, declaring it too dangerous to remain, and warned residents from Bombay and Little Bombay to either prepare their homes for the coming fire or evacuate.
By Friday late afternoon it was too late to leave.
Just after 7pm, the fire jumped the Shoalhaven River, west of Braidwood, which fire crews had hoped would serve as a natural firebreak.
It had already engulfed around 7000ha of national park and surrounding paddocks.
The Kings Hwy, between Canberra and Batemans Bay, was closed north of the National Park, with fears embers could spark fires near the highway and put thousands of motorists in danger.
In Braidwood, tight-knit groups of locals came together to help locals take pets and horses to the showground north of town.
Anne Bracey, of Harold Cross, just kilometres from the edge of the national park had ferried 18 horses from her property to the showground, including retired thoroughbred Chad and her daughter’s beloved horse Avanti.
“We’re not in the worst of it, but it’s about a four hour evacuation, if we were to wait until the morning it could get a bit untidy,” she said.
A handful of evacuees had converged on the National Theatre, where
The Royal Mail Hotel had been fundraising for the RFS all week, passing the hat around among patrons and guests.
Hannah Hancock, 22, said the group of local kids behind the fundraising effort would walk to the RFS station on Saturday morning to hand over the money they had raised.
“We’ve all got so many people around town, friends and family, who could end up in trouble and who could lose everything,” she said.
Rural Fire Service Lake George district officer Darren Marks said the priority late yesterday was to protect homes east of the national park.
“It has come out of the Tallaganda forest with a vengeance,” he said.
Crews had been doorknocking all day, telling residents to prepare for the worst.
RFS spokeswoman Angela Burford said late on Friday night spot fires had been reported within 3km of Braidwood, with conditions forecast to worsen overnight and on Saturday
