Severe fire conditions in the Top End expected to last all week

TOP End residents have been urged to brace for a continuation of severe fire conditions for the rest of this week

TOP End residents have been urged to brace for a continuation of severe fire conditions for the rest of this week, with the fire risk in the Darwin and Adelaide River area expected to potentially reach catastrophic levels tomorrow.

It comes as a number of bushfires continued to rage in Darwin’s rural area today.

Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Bureau of Meteorology NT manager Todd Smith said the fire risk in the Top End at the moment was “severe”.

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“The combination of exceptionally dry air that’s pushed up over the Top End, combined with the very high temperatures that we’re seeing inland and also the strong winds that are being generated by a high pressure system to our south, they’re all combining to produce severe fire danger conditions right across the Top End, and also including the Carpentaria, Katherine and Gregory districts,” he said.

Catastrophic #Fire Danger Rating issued for the NT for tmrw. #Catastrophic covers #Darwin & Adelaide River, numerous other areas at Extreme & Severe. Hot, dry & windy conditions making situation potentially dangerous for days. Details https://t.co/N5bzjxnYLD@BushfiresNT @ntpfes pic.twitter.com/EYr6zkUMmf

— Bureau of Meteorology, Northern Territory (@BOM_NT) August 26, 2020

“(Those conditions are likely to last) today, tomorrow and into Friday as well before conditions may start to ease over the weekend.

“The Darwin and Adelaide River river fire forecast area is of particular concern with the high fuel loads there. We’re expecting conditions up around the extreme range there, and tomorrow may even see catastrophic fire conditions in exposed areas between Batchelor and Adelaide River.”

He said the conditions so severe they were “something we probably only see once every five years”.

“I just really urge residents, particularly those out in the rural areas, to really take this seriously and listen the advice from the fire authorities,” he said.

Extreme #Fire Danger today for #Darwin & Adelaide River. Severe Fire Danger for Carpenteria, Gregory, Northern Fire Protection Area, Daly South & Katherine Fire Protection Area. Hot, dry & windy conditions are significantly increasing risk over next few days @BushfiresNT @ntpfes pic.twitter.com/UNJFTsl75N

— Bureau of Meteorology, Northern Territory (@BOM_NT) August 26, 2020

NT Police Superintendent and emergency operations centre incident controller Daniel Shean said authorities were taking urgent action to counter the risk.

“An emergency operations centre has been established today, for the police to provide support to agencies responding to the fires,” he said.

“As a consequence of the information that we’ve received from the BOM, in terms of the dangers associated with the weather conditions, I’ve put a request through to the Territory controller, to the Minister, to declare an emergency situation. which will remain in place until revoked.”

The emergency status is expected to be granted this evening.

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NT Fire and Rescue chief fire officer Mark Spain said it was “too late” for residents to prepare their blocks for a fire if they hadn’t already, and urged drivers to avoid fire-affected areas or drive to conditions.

He urged people to monitor the SecureNT website and ABC Emergency for updates on the situation.