Fire crews continue to battle blazes at Fingal and Pelham
UPDATED: Watch and act bushfire alerts remain in place in Tasmania's north-east this morning, while fires at Glenlusk, Pelham, and the Southwest are at advice level.
Tasmania
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6.30AM: Watch and act bushfire alerts remain in place in Tasmania's north-east this morning, while fires at Glenlusk, Pelham, and the Southwest are at advice level.
Five watch and act alerts are in place for the fires first reported at Mangana Rd, Fingal. The alerts are for Mangana, the Tower Hill area, Valley Rd at Fingal, Fingal and surrounds, and Mathinna Rd, Fingal to Mathinna. An advice message is in place for Royal George Rd and Nowhere Else in relation to the same fires.
Advice messages are also in place Collinsvale Rd at Glenlusk, the Pelham, Elderslie and Broadmarsh areas, and Pearce Basin, Southwest.
For more information, visit http://fire.tas.gov.au/ or listen to ABC local radio.
6PM: AN uncontrolled bushfire at Collinsvale Road, Glenlusk has been downgraded to a watch and act alert.
A select number of residents on that stretch of road are being allowed to travel to their homes, depending on where their property is situated.
The road remains closed to all other traffic.
Water bombing operations are continuing in the area.
The Tasmania Fire Service warned to blaze could still put Collinsvale Road, Glenlusk at high risk and that fire under these conditions can be difficult to control.
5PM: ANXIOUSLY watching the Glenlusk blaze from a vantage point was Jacynta Ransley.
She feared for the property, on Collinsvale Rd, Glenlusk, that belonged to her grandfather Rex Ransley, who died recently aged 89.
“It’s more the meaning of that place. It’s called Nowhere,” she said.
“He is very well known in the community and only passed away a month ago.
“That’s why we’re so devastated. It’s his whole legacy up there.
“Everything has been hand-built with his own two bare hands and my dad’s as well.
“The house ... the orchard, everything.”
Miss Ransley said this coming Saturday would have been her pop’s 90th birthday.
“We were going to spread the ashes up here for his birthday,” she said.
Miss Ransley drove towards the blaze after finding out about it on social media.
“I wasn’t allowed to go up [to the property],” she said.
“It’s right in the gully.
“I just saw lots of police, numerous firefighters and trucks, horses being removed and a lot of people in the streets just watching.”
Collinsvale Road has closed to all traffic from Glenlusk Road and is closed at both ends, Tasmania Police advises.
All traffic is asked to avoid the area until further notice.
4.40PM: Several onlookers have gathered in various locations to check out the blaze at Glenlusk.
There are multiple helicopters undertaking water bombing in the area.
Collinsvale resident Bernie Simm said he decided to come home early from work after noticing a cloud of smoke.
He had stopped to watch the firefighting efforts on his way home.
“I had a mate ring me about 3.30 and he’s from Collinsvale as well, he was in a panic about the fires,” he said.
“So I thought I better go home and check.”
David King, also of Collinsvale, came to assess the scene after seeing smoke.
“I thought I’d better come up and have a look just to see whether I better start getting stuff ready,” he said.
“At first I thought it was clouds and then the helicopters appeared and sirens going.
“My kids were all ringing me, and I thought I better come up and see what’s going on.”
3.15PM: AN uncontrolled bushfire at Glenlusk will put lives in danger and may destroy homes, the Tasmania Fire Service says.
The TFS said the fire will be difficult to control and warned of thick smoke and thousands of embers.
The fire will move quickly and may come from many directions.
An emergency warning has been issued for a fire on Hobart’s outskirts at Glenlusk. https://t.co/WMEsU4qiSX #AustraliaBurning #ausfires #tasfires pic.twitter.com/orElFUWmhE
— Mercury (@themercurycomau) January 2, 2020
The TFS advised the safest option is to prepare to leave now for a safer place.
If you don’t have safe route to a safer place, shelter inside your home until the fire passes.
There is currently no nearby safer place and no evacuation centre set up.
Do not try to return if you are out of the area.
FEARS FIRE COULD SURGE TOWARDS EAST COAST
EARLIER: WATCH and act alerts remain in place for five fires burning around the Fingal area.
The Tasmania Fire Service has issued updated alerts for the Mangana, Tower Hill, Valley Rd, Mathinna Rd, and Fingal and surrounds fires.
The TFS said the fires remain uncontrolled but measures to control the fires are being put in place.
There is no evacuation centre open at the moment but a drop-in centre is at the Fingal Neighbourhood House, at 20 Talbot Street, Fingal.
The nearby safer place is at the Fingal Football Club and Recreation Ground
More information is at the Tasmania Fire Service website.
MORE:
FEARS AS PHONES CUT OFF AS FIRES HIT
‘EERIE’ BUSHFIRE THREATENS DEER HERD
OWNER COUNTS HIS LOSSES IN ‘INSANE’ BLAZE
FIRE BELIEVED TO BE DELIBERATELY LIT
EARLIER: The bushfire at Pelham in the Derwent Valley has been downgraded to advice, while five watch and act alerts remain for blazes in the state’s North-East.
Two watch and act alerts were in place for the Pelham blaze this morning, but now an advice message is current for the Pelham, Elderslie, and Broadmarsh areas.
Five watch and act alerts remain in place for fires at Fingal.
For more information, visit the Tasmania Fire Service website or listen to ABC local radio.
EARLIER: SEVEN watch and act alerts are in place for two Tasmanian bushfires this morning.
Five watch and act alerts and one advice message is in place for a fire that was first reported at Mangana Rd, Fingal, in Tasmania’s north-east, while two watch and act alerts are in place for a blaze that was first reported at Pelham in the Derwent Valley.
The watch and act alerts relating to the Fingal fire are in place for Mangana, Tower Hill area, Valley Rd at Fingal, Fingal and surrounds, and Mathinna Rd, Fingal to Mathinna. The advice message is in place for Royal George Rd and Nowhere Else.
Tasmania Fire Service acting regional chief Ian Bounds told ABC local radio the fires at Fingal had reached nearly 8000ha.
“The two fires south of Fingal have actually joined late yesterday, so we now have large fires of major concern burning both sides of the [Esk Highway],” Mr Bounds said.
“Certainly over the next few days, there’s a lot of work happening around the Fingal and Mangana communities [to] make those areas safe, but we are expecting activity to increase and more of an easterly spread towards the coast.
“We’re looking at [seeing] how we can contain that ahead of these warming temperatures expected over the weekend.”
Watch and act alerts relating to the Pelham fire and in place for Pelham and surrounding areas and Elderslie and Broadmarsh.
A bushfire advice message is also in place for Pearce Basin in the South-West.
Mr Bounds said it would be a challenge to contain a number of Tasmanian fires with warm weather expected on the weekend.
“There’ll be considerable backburning happening with the intent to take the fuel away from the front of these fires so they can slow these fires so we can then be a bit more direct with our suppression tactics,” he said.
For more information visit the Tasmania Fire Service website or listen to ABC local radio.
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