Continued vigilance urged as firefighters make steady progress on bushfires

The Tasmania Fire Service says crews have made steady progress on containment lines at bushfires across the state, with more cool weather expected in the coming days.

A helicopter drops water on fires near Lake Augusta Road in the Central Highlands. Picture: CHRIS KIDD

THE Tasmania Fire Service says crews have made steady progress on containment lines at bushfires across the state, with more cool weather expected in the coming days.

However the TFS said access to some firegrounds was limited on Monday due to low level cloud around the Central Plateau and the South-West.

There are still 28 fires statewide, with 18 classified as going.

The TFS said a strong cold front on Tuesday is expected to continue to make firefighting difficult in some areas, in terms of slippery ground, access issues and dangerous trees.

Gusty winds and low cloud are forecast in some areas with a strong west to southwest airflow forecast for the remainder of this week.

COLD, WET WEATHER HAMPERS BUSHFIRE FIGHT

DESTRUCTIVE FIRES MAY BE THE ‘NEW NORMAL’

To date, 205,388ha have been burnt across Tasmania.

There were 486 personnel and 24 aircraft working on the fires on Monday including 175 firefighters from interstate and New Zealand.

Seven watch and act alerts remain in place for the fires on the Central Plateau and in the Huon Valley.

The Parks and Wildlife Service has reopened a number of national parks and walking tracks.

These include the Walls of Jerusalem National Park, four wheel drive tracks around Zeehan, Rosebery and Heemskirk, and parts of Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.

Campfire restrictions remain in place across all national parks, reserves and Crown Land statewide until further notice.

PWS deputy secretary Jason Jacobi said while the change in weather conditions had eased the fire threat, visitors should remain vigilant.

Meanwhile, the State Government has held a roundtable with forest industry representatives to discuss bushfire damage to production forests.

Resources Minister Sarah Courtney said more than 70,000ha of private and public forest land had been affected by the bushfires across the state, with the worst damage in the South.