Firefighters dig in ahead of expected severe fire danger on Friday
UPDATED 10.30am: A haven for livestock at risk from bushfires will open in the Huon Valley ahead of tomorrow’s severe fire weather. VIDEO, BUMPER GALLERY
Tasmania
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UPDATED 10.30am: A haven for livestock at risk from bushfires will be opened in the Huon Valley ahead of tomorrow’s severe fire weather.
The Ranelagh Recreation Ground will be open from 4pm has been identified by the Huon Valley Council and the Tasmania Fire Service as the most suitable site to accommodate livestock such as horses.
“It is important that everyone with animals has at least a basic plan to protect them during a bushfire. You need to do this well before any fire risk, so that everyone in your family knows what to do in an emergency,” the Huon Valley website says.
“Decide in advance when, where and how you will move them if they need to be moved to a safer place.
“It is important to ensure your own safety before the safety of your pets and livestock. Many people have died during bushfires whilst trying to save pets and livestock.”
Information sessions are being held in the Huon area today with a bushfire burning at the Tahune Airwalk. The fire is currently at advice level.
The TFS will be at Geeveston School Hall today from 1pm for drop-in sessions with a public meeting at 7pm.
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Forecast high temperatures and windy conditions are expected to add to the dozens of fires already burning across Tasmania.
Some 55,000ha of wilderness and bushland across the state has been ravaged by scores of fires, at least one of which has been burning since late December.
With conditions across the state forecast to worsen on Friday, authorities are warning there is an increasing threat to property and life.
The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting temperatures of up to the high-30s on Friday, together with dry thunderstorms.
“Strong and gusty northwesterly winds are expected to develop on Friday which, combined with the hot temperatures, will see very high to severe fire dangers develop about southern, central and eastern parts of Tasmania,” the bureau said in a statement.
State Fire Controller Bruce Byatt said people must be physically and mentally prepared if they choose to defend their homes against the fires. “It is not a simple task and you need to consider it very carefully,” he said. One house has been lost and almost 50 fires continue to burn, many in central parts of the state and some prompting repeated emergency warnings for nearby residents of townships including Miena, Barren Tier, Tods Corner, Penstock Lagoon, Liawenee and Shannon.
A major fire still burns near Gell River, northwest of Hobart, scorching more than 20,000 hectares of wilderness since it started on December 28. Another blaze burns near Lake Fergus in the state’s centre.
A total fire ban is in place for all of Tasmania, starting Thursday until Monday.
UPDATED 6.30am: FIREFIGHTERS have taken advantages of cooler weather conditions to consolidate their efforts against nearly four dozen bushfires still raging across the state.
Six watch and act alerts remain in place in the Central Plateau this morning, and advice alerts are in place at a further seven locations.
Watch and act alerts are in place at Miena, Penstock Lagoon, Shannon, Liawenee, Barren Tier, and Tods Corner.
Advice alerts are in place for Morass Bay, Flintsone, Wilburville, and Waddamana in the Central Plateau, along with Tahune Airwalk, Geeveston and surrounding areas, and Maydena, Tyenna, Mount Field and National Park in the South-west.
Weather forecasters are now predicting temperatures approaching 40C and severe fire danger in the state’s South-East on Friday.
Police have activated a “hot day response” in a bid to manage the risks of additional or accidental outbreaks of fire and people heading bush for Australia Day are being urged to reconsider.
Tasmania Fire Service state public information officer Peter Middleton said crews were able to “do some really good work” yesterday and first thing this morning as a result of a lull in the weather.
“Our priority today is to continue to throw as much at these fires as we can, in terms of consolidating edges around communities, protecting infrastructure, and protecting other community assets, as well as communicating the serious of the situation with the Tasmanian community.
“We’ve got dozens of bushfires in the landscape, and there is real potential for many of these fires to be uncontrollable with tomorrow’s conditions.”
Mr Middleton said while the forecast conditions tomorrow were of most concern, warm conditions today could see some emergency warnings issued.
“It is meant to be warmer inland today,” he said.
“There’s every chance that some of those alerts that we’ve got on for that Great Pine Tier fire, in particular, could go back up to emergency warning, so we need people to be really monitoring that situation regularly.”
Tasmania Fire Service deputy chief officer Bruce Byatt also said they were making steady progress in the fight against those fires still burning.
“We’ve been able to take advantage of the favourable weather conditions today and downgrade most of our alert levels on the Central Plateau fire,” he said.
“We still have 46 fires listed and 27 of those are going fires and a total area of 55,000 hectares has been burned across the state.
“To give you some indication of the difficulty that we’re up against there’s 720km of fireline.
“One house has been lost west of Miena at Skittleball Hill and we considered that to be a defendable property that came under ember attack and sadly it was lost.”
All possible effort was being put in place for Friday’s expected bad weather, Mr Byatt said.
“Any new fires that do start will put communities at great risk and we must not be complacent ahead of the severe conditions that we are expecting on Friday,” he said.
“We expect that many of the fires that we currently have successfully contained will break their containment lines and if the predicted weather conditions eventuate it will be a very difficult time for us and our interstate colleagues who have come to give us assistance.
“We’re aware that Tasmanians are making their annual Australia Day camping pilgrimages this weekend and we want everyone to enjoy the weekend but we would also ask that they reconsider their holiday plans if they’re considering doing that in bush or remote areas.
“It’s your responsibility to keep you and your family safe so make good decisions now and don’t put yourself or your family in harm’s way.”
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Simon McCulloch said temperature forecasts for Friday had been revised upwards.
“The preview of Hobart’s temperature that we’re just about to publish is 37 for Friday and it’s likely parts of the South-East will be close to 40.
“So somewhere around Campania or somewhere like that will be around 39 or 40.
“The winds in the upper levels of the atmosphere are quite strong. So there is the potential for quite strong and gusty northwesterly winds to be mixed down particularly over southeastern Tasmania during Friday afternoon.”
Mr McCulloch said there was a risk of more dry thunderstorms passing over the state during the day.
“And so in the environment that we’re in at the moment, with lots of fire activity already, that just adds to the mix,” he said.
Tasmania Police Assistant Commissioner Richard Cowling said police would be active in support of the fire service — particularly in ensuring no new fires start.
“What the Hot Day Response allows for Tasmania Police is the implementation of a number of proactive strategies in order to provide a high visibility patrol to some of the high risk areas that exist within Tasmania.
“These will include high visibility patrols of areas that are urban and bush fringe areas and those spots that we consider high risk including camping grounds and recreational areas that people will use over the Australia Day weekend.
”We’d like to thank the community today for the work they’ve done in ensuring there has been no new fires during this period.”
He urged anyone who saw suspicious activity to contact police on 131 444.
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