5500 lightning strikes across the state spark dozens of fires
UPDATED: Tasmanian firefighters are assessing the impact of an estimated 5500 lightning strikes across the state overnight which have left about 30 bushfires in their wake. PICTURE GALLERY
Tasmania
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UPDATED: Tasmanian firefighters are assessing the impact of an estimated 5500 lightning strikes across the state overnight which have left about 30 bushfires in their wake.
A major fire which has ripped through through nearly 20,000ha of national park north of Maydena continues to burn today.
A new fire at Lake Fergus in the Central Highlands is also being treated as a priority after it burned through 130ha after fires were reported at 1.30pm on Tuesday.
Bushwalkers were being urged to leave the area immediately.
The Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service said multiple fires were burning in national parks and urged people not to venture into remote areas until their extent was fully known.
“There has been considerable thunderstorm activity across the state overnight. Some fires have started in remote areas and the situation is being assessed as a matter of urgency,” a spokeswoman said.
“At present, numerous outbreaks of fire remain uncharted, particularly in the South-West.”
The Parks and Wildlife Service has asked visitors not to start bushwalks or four-wheel driving in remote areas until further notice.
Track closures remain in place on Maria Island.
Visitors were urged to keep themselves informed about the latest conditions via the Parks and Wildlife and the Tasmania Fire Service website and social media feeds, by checking in at visitors centres and by heeding advice of parks staff and notices at track heads.
TFS spokesman Peter Middleton urged members of the public to be vigiliant.
“The main message for the community is that we have had thousands of lightning strikes overnight,” he said.
“We have around 30 or so fires around at the moment and we have had flights up identifying other new starts.
“We want the public to report any new fires to the Tasmania Fire Service as soon as possible and also to consider their fire plans.”
One of the state’s most popular tourist attractions has closed for the day because of bushfires burning nearby.
The Tahune Airwalk announced on its website that it would be closed.
“Due to thousands of dry lightning strikes, overnight many small fires have been identified within our Huon area,” it said.
“With advice from Tasmania Fire Service, we have decided for safety reasons to close the site today. People with medical conditions are advised to avoid smoke areas.”
“Apologies for the inconvenience but your safety is our first priority.”
Tahune Airwalk owner Ken Stronach said there were no fires burning in the immediate vicinity of the attraction, but it had been decided to close out of an abundance of caution and to assist firefighters.
“There’s a number of spot fires which have been created by the lightning strikes in the region and there’s a lot of smoke in the area,” he said.
“Everything is well away from us. We expect to be open as normal tomorrow (Thursday).”
The Bureau of Meteorology said there had been 5500 lightning strikes around the state since 3pm yesterday.
“Dry thunderstorms are possible again today, although mainly to the north of the state, with
little rain expected to fall,” the BoM said in an update.
Temperatures are predicted to be in the low to mid-20s for most of the state today, with highs of 32C expected in Cressy and 31C in Launceston.
Very high fire danger is forecast for the Central North and Midlands forecast districts, although showers of up to 10mm are predicted in the state’s central areas.
Winds will generally be light, although gusts of up to 45km/h are possible along the East Coast.
Thursday will be warm to hot, with temperatures exceeding 30C in the northern and central regions ahead of cooler but windier conditions on Friday.
TasNetworks crews have toiled through the night to fix power outages caused by the dry lightning storm that swept across the state’s South-East.
The storm rolled into the southern region about 7pm, crossing Hobart about two hours later.
A TasNetworks spokesman this morning said power outages peaked at about 3000 households between 9.30pm and 10pm yesterday.
“Crews worked overnight to get most people back on,” he said.
“Currently we’ve got about 500 customers without power across the southern suburbs of Hobart, particularly on the Tasman Peninsula (in Eaglehawk Neck and Murdunna).
“There is no estimated time of restoration at this stage.”
The spokesman said crews would continue working today, assessing the damage caused by lightning strikes.
“We’ve had 35 feeders tripped because of the lightning and we’ve had one house hit by lightning on the East Coast at Bicheno.”
He said about 20 power poles were hit by lightning, resulting in blown fuses and pole fires.
And it appears there’s more electrical activity on the way.
The spokesman said similar conditions were expected between now and Friday.
He urged members of the public to stay safe and check the TasNetworks website and Facebook page for regular updates.
To report an outage, call 132 004.
OVERNIGHT: ANOTHER wave of dry lightning strikes sparked about 40 vegetation fires, mainly in South-East Tasmania.
About 20 vegetation fires sprang up in the Huon region on Tuesday night as a dry lightning storm rolled across the South-East after 7pm, crossing Hobart about 8.30pm.
A further 19 vegetation fires were listed by the Tasmania Fire Service between 8.30 and 9.10 as lightning spread throughout the South-East.
Fires were reported in Wellington Park, the Derwent Valley, Central Highlands, Southern Midlands and the Tasman and Forestier peninsulas.
The Tasmania Fire Service issued an advice alert for the Wattle Grove area because of several fires started by lightning, but the advice was later downgraded.
Advice alerts remain in place for Lake Fergus on the Central Plateau and the ongoing fire at Gell River in the South-West.
None of the vegetation fires are listed as threatening communities, but very high fire dangers are expected in some areas on Wednesday, with little rain expected in coming days.
Tuesday night’s new fires followed more than 20 bushfires sparked on Monday night by more than 1200 lightning strikes.
TFS Southern Regional Fire Controller Mark Dobson said Tasmania’s midlands and North-East would continue to be the danger zones in the hot days to come. He said a combination of dry lightning activity and hot temperatures were a bad fire recipe but so far the winds had remained calm.
Crews continue to work on the Gell River fire deep in Tasmania's South-West and people in Maydena, Tyenna, Mount Field and National Park were told to listen to ABC Local Radio and keep an eye on the TFS website.
“This fire is taking up most of our resources but we now need crews in the Fingal Valley, Bothwell and the Central Highlands,” Mr Dobson said. The TFS has warned the state will be in the grip of a very high fire danger period until Friday when a cold front will cool things and bring rain.
“People in bushfire prone areas need to understand that under these conditions, fires can start and spread easily.
“TFS has pre-positioned crews and aircraft to allow us to respond to fires quickly in the areas most at risk,” Mr Dobson said.
Police, Fire and Emergency Management Minister Michael Ferguson urged Tasmanians to be vigilant.
EARLIER: TASMANIA Fire Service has issued an advice alert relating to a bushfire at Great Pine Tier on the Central Plateau.
There may be smoke and ash in the Lake Fergus area, about 15km west of Liawenee.
Tasmania Fire Service advises while there is no immediate threat, the fire could be difficult to control under the current conditions.
Any bushwalkers in the area should leave immediately.
People in the area are advised check their bushfire plan and stay up to date by listening to ABC local radio or checking the TFS website
An advice message issued this afternoon for a bushfire at Douglas-Apsley National Park has been downgraded.
The warnings come at the TFS issued another reminder to pilots of aircraft and drones of the danger and disruption that may be caused by flying in the airspace of firefighting operations.
About 5pm on Monday a TFS firefighting helicopter became aware of an unidentified helicopter encroaching on the firefighting airspace over the Gell River fire, about 300m from the TFS helicopter.
Attempts to contact and identify the aircraft by radio were unsuccessful and it left shortly after.
Acting assistant director, state operations Neil Brooksbank said the incident posed a “significant risk to the aircraft and people participating in aerial firefighting operations”.
“[It] also had the potential to ground firefighting aircraft and halt firefighting. TFS will be taking a zero tolerance approach to any such breaches and will be reporting these to the relevant authorities,” he said.
“Unfortunately some private aircraft operators appear to be either unaware of, or ignore notices relating to aerial operations around fires. These notices request all piloted aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems such as drones remain clear of aviation activity associated with firefighting operations.”
TFS conducted an internal review of the incident and referred it to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
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