Mallacoota locals face long wait to leave fire-ravaged town
Those still stuck in Mallacoota will be forced to remain in the fire-ravaged town for the foreseeable future, as authorities continue to work around the clock to clear the only road out of town.
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People who have stayed in Mallacoota have been warned they face a long wait to regain road access.
The Princes Highway - which connects to the only road in and out of the town - has been cut off since New Year’s Eve and authorities said there was no timeline of when it would reopen.
The road north to New South Wales was opened for one hour on Sunday, allowing 123 people in 66 different vehicles to leave in a convoy escorted by CFA, police and ambulances.
It comes as Australian Defence Force crews continue the laborious task of clearing fallen trees along the rural highway.
Mallacoota Police Forward Commander, Senior Sergeant Rod Findlay, said slow progress was being made but it was impossible to predict when the highway would reopen.
“Unfortunately, there’s no forecast on timing,” he said.
“Anyone who gave me an estimate I’d probably laugh at them, quite simply because it’s just a complete unknown.”
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Snr-Sgt Findlay said it was a “dangerous and challenging” job to get the road to a usable state.
“It’s a very windy road and there are a lot of big trees. It’s not the road itself that’s the worry, it’s the verges with all the big trees. They get a lot of landslips, so you can imagine there are a lot of trees further up the hill, even if they’re not on the side of the road if they fall they’re going to impact the road.”
He said access issues meant a lot of clearing work had to be done by hand rather than with machinery.
More than 100 people have been escorted out of Mallacoota by Defence personnel.
The 128 stranded people were moved from of the fire-ravaged town along a road that is still deemed very dangerous by emergency services.
The roads in and out could remain closed to the public for weeks to come while trees on either side of the road are assessed.
“It could be weeks before it’s absolutely safe and of course safety is the absolute priority in this case,” Lieutenant General Bilton said.
“It’s a very deliberate slow process but it is allowing people to get out and get home.”
Support in the form of 100 Papua New Guinean engineers arrived in Victoria today (mon) to assist with route clearing and firefighting support.
PREMIER DODGES CALLS FOR ROYAL COMMISSION INTO BUSHFIRES
Premier Daniel Andrews has cautiously side-stepped calls for a federal royal commission into this summer’s bushfires, saying Victoria is already reviewing how it has dealt with the crisis.
The state government is preparing to boost the resources of the Inspector-General for Emergency Management, which has started its work on a broad review.
Asked about the need for a royal commission today, Mr Andrews said: “What the Commonwealth government does is a matter for them.”
“We’ve got the infrastructure, and again, that’s the learnings that come from having had that terrible February 2009 experience,” the Premier said.
“We’ve learned many things along these last 10 years and one of them is to have a standing review mechanism so that you’re constantly learning and improving every time one of these terrible incidents happens.”
Speaking in Corryong on Monday, where he announced tax relief for businesses and individuals hit by the disastrous fires, Mr Andrews said he had spoken “at length” with Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday, and flagged the need for greater Defence Force involvement in the future.
The Premier also said:
• Almost 1.4 million hectares had been burned in Victoria in this summer’s fires.
• A total of 340 homes and 532 non-residential structures have been destroyed.
• Nearly 8500 payments totalling $9 million have been made to those affected by the crisis.
• Victoria’s bushfire appeal has raised $19.1 million to support bushfire-ravaged communities.
CFA chief officer Steve Warrington said 5 per cent of Victoria was burnt or still burning.
He said this week was a “critical time” and potentially the “most dangerous period of the fire fight” as crews moved to the edge of out-of-control blazes to put in containment lines during more favourable weather conditions.
MELBOURNE AIR DETERIORATES AS HAZE THICKENS
Haze has returned across the state, prompting a health warning as out-of-control bushfires continue to rage.
Poor and very poor air quality conditions are forecast statewide, with smoke and haze in the east, northeast and central Victoria. The haze has also returned to the city.
While the air quality was generally good across the state around 9.30am, the air quality in Melbourne dropped between 10am to 11am — and is steadily worsening.
— Check air quality ratings here
Very poor air quality has been recorded in Box Hill, Dandenong and Mooroolbark, and it remains poor across most of Melbourne.
The EPA has today forecast “very poor” air quality in Melbourne, all of Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley, along with the central, north-central and northeast regions.
In Bright and Orbost, the air quality is hazardous.
There is barely a cloud in the sky, but smoke haze is now covering much of #Victoria. The thickest smoke is currently across the East, but looks likely to push into central parts including the #Melbourne area later today. Check air quality at the EPA https://t.co/hfvZi6lnf2 1/2 pic.twitter.com/SBv7nRVqqf
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) January 12, 2020
A loop of the satellite image highlights the broad area of smoke across #Victoria. In the northwest the haze is thinning as it mixes with cleaner air aloft, however thicker smoke from East Gippsland is moving west and into Bass Strait https://t.co/F71arc6xjX 2/2 pic.twitter.com/cwz1pocw6H
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) January 13, 2020
Poor air quality has been forecast in the Wimmera, Mallee and Geelong, along with the state’s north and southwest.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the thickest smoke this morning was spread across the state’s east, but was due to push in Melbourne later today.
It comes after extremely thick haze blanketed Melbourne CBD last Monday, triggering a massive increase in paramedic call-outs.
Ambos received a 51 per cent spike in call-outs to breathing problems, with hundreds of people struggling in the polluted air.
Environment Protection Authority’s state agency commander Marleen Mathias said the smoke haze could continue to impact air quality for several months.
Today’s air quality across the state will range from MODERATE to HAZARDOUS.
— EPA Victoria (@EPA_Victoria) January 12, 2020
EPA advises people in smoke affected areas to take care and stay indoors away from smoke where possible.
For up to date air quality information visit https://t.co/hUboaTGYpL pic.twitter.com/WeU2HerQTQ
“If the fires continue on, depending on weather there may be smoke haze to particular areas across the state,” she said.
“It depends on how the fires progress and what’s going on with weather conditions.”
The air quality was due to decline from good to poor on this morning, and stay poor for the remainder of Tuesday.
It triggered a warning of potential health impacts.
“People are likely to feel impacts so people will definitely smell the smoke,” she said.
“People might become a bit short of breath if they’re outside, or cough.
“So that’s why — particularly if you can smell it and if you can see it — if you don’t need to be outside don’t be outside.”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SMOKE HAZE
‘TOO LATE TO LEAVE’ AS FIRE BEARS DOWN
An emergency warning has been issued for residents in East Gippsland, with people in Noorinbee and Noorinbee North told it is too late to leave.
A bushfire at Cann Road Bridge, north of Kate’s Creek on the Monaro Highway is out of control and travelling south towards Leslie’s Track.
It comes as more than 1000 firefighters, supported by more than 60 aircraft, continue to fight 19 fires still burning across the state.
There were six watch and act warnings in place as 1.45pm.
Earlier today, authorities issued emergency warnings for two bushfires, despite milder conditions with temperatures forecast to remain between the 20Cs and the low 30Cs.
But those have since been downgraded.
The Victorian fires have burnt through more than 1.3 million hectares since November 21, a State Control Centre spokeswoman said.
Milder conditions are expected to last throughout the week, with rain developing in the state’s east on Wednesday and extending at least until Saturday.
Fire authorities said despite the milder conditions, people needed to remain aware of conditions in their area because fires were still active.
“We’ve got fairly benign weather conditions, but we still have very active fires in the landscape and people need to stay across their local conditions,” Emergency Management Victoria Commissioner Andrew Crisp said on Sunday.
DEATH TOLL RISES
The state’s death toll from the fires rose to four with the death of a veteran firefighter.
Wonthaggi father of two Bill Slade, 60, was working on the edge of a fire at Anglers Rest, near Omeo, when he was struck by a tree on Saturday.
Mr Slade had worked on major fire incidents in the past, including the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires.
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“Bill was a much loved colleague, friend and member of the Wonthaggi community. He’ll be sorely missed by Parks Victoria,” Parks Victoria chief Matt Jackson said.
Premier Daniel Andrews sent his condolences to Mr Slade’s family on Sunday, stressing how his death showed the fires remain a dangerous environment.
Across the state, 286 homes and 400 other buildings have been damaged by fire.
The milder conditions offer firefighters an opportunity to strengthen containment lines in fire-ravaged areas.