Hot and windy conditions expected to test Tasmanian fireys and communities
UPDATED 3.30PM: The Tasmania Fire Service has confirmed another house in the path of the Riveaux Road blaze has been wiped out as the bushfire property toll continues to rise.
Tasmania
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UPDATED 3.30PM: The Tasmania Fire Service has confirmed another house in the path of the Riveaux Road blaze has been wiped out as the bushfire property toll continues to rise.
The latest loss takes the total number of structures destroyed to seven across the state.
TFS said four properties have been engulfed by the Riveaux Road fire in the Huon Valley and three by the Great Pine Tier fire in the Central Plateau.
Other houses have also received some moderate damage.
Further information is expected to be provided once impact assessment teams have inspected the damage.
UPDATED 1.35PM: Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has called on the Federal Government to be generous in its support for Tasmania’s regions affected by bushfires.
Mr Shorten visited Huonville today to speak to those who have been evacuated from fire-affected areas and to be briefed by emergency services.
He called on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to be generous in this support during the recovery period.
“I just want to reassure Tasmanians. I’m here today because I want to make sure that you get your fair share,” Mr Shorten said.
“You pay taxes to Canberra and really when there’s a time and disaster that’s when you want to see reimbursement to the businesses in particular the small businesses not just in the Huon Valley but in other parts of Tasmania.
“I’ve said that I want the Prime Minister to bring the cheque book on behalf of the Government. Now is not the time to be stingy or bureaucratic.
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“I’ve seen fire recovery and reconstruction before all over Australia. Now is not the time for government to go missing.”
Mr Shorten expressed sympathy for those who had lost their homes to the fires and urged them to seek help if they were struggling with the distress that had caused.
“People react to stress in different ways and it can come up and affect them at different times. There’s no embarrassment and seeking help and getting support and I know the services are there.”
UPDATED 12.35PM: Prime Minister Scott Morrison has praised the ‘extraordinary’ efforts of Tasmanian firefighters during a visit to Huonville, south of Hobart.
Mr Morrison and Premier Will Hodgman, along with other senior Liberal politicians, visited the Huonville PCYC evacuation centre this morning.
They took some time to speak with locals and business owners in the town who have been affected by fire.
Mr Morrison said he was impressed by the work of firefighters and how the community had come together to respond to the crisis.
“I must admit that having received the briefing this morning I want to tell Australians that here in Tasmania they’ve done an extraordinary job in trying to mitigate and limit the impact of these fires not just when it comes to property and of course most importantly, lives,” Mr Morrison said.
“It is one of the one of the points that is worth acknowledging that despite the ferocity of these fires that those properties that property damage has been limited … but also we’ve had no lives lost, that is something.”
Mr Hodgman said the Prime Minister had been following the bushfire situation from the start and both levels of government had been co-ordinating their response to the crisis.
UPDATED 11.50AM: Prime Minister Scott Morrison has arrived in the southern Tasmanian town of Huonville to talk to people affected by the state’s bushfire crisis.
Mr Morrison and Premier Will Hodgman visited Huonville Fire Station this morning and spoke with firefighters about their efforts battling several large blazes burning in the area.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten is also making a tour of bushfire affected areas.
He earlier stopped by the Huonville fire station, accompanied by Member for Franklin Julie Collins and state Labor leader Rebecca White.
The fires have so far burnt more than 190,000ha, about 2.8 per cent of Tasmanian land.
UPDATED 9AM:Images have emerged of a house destroyed by fire at Geeveston yesterday.
The home, on Huon Highway near the Hermons Rd intersection near Geeveston, was engulfed by the Riveaux Rd fire which has plagued the Huon Valley since January 16.
The Tasmania Fire Service this morning said there were unconfirmed reports of property loss from the Riveaux Road fire and Great Pine Tier bushfires yesterday.
“It is very difficult to get definitive information of what has been damaged or destroyed at this point in time,” State Public Information Officer Peter Middleton said.
“Impact assessments will be conducted as soon as safely possible — this could take some time.”
Mr Middleton said further information would be provided when available. A media briefing will be held at 3pm today.
Conditions have eased since a cold front crossed the state yesterday afternoon and now just one emergency bushfire warning remains in place at Reynolds Neck in the Central Highlands.
UPDATED 6.30AM: One emergency bushfire warning remains in place this morning after a cold front moved across the state yesterday afternoon.
The 49,420ha Great Pine Tier blaze continues to put Reynolds Neck at very high risk.
The alert warns fire will be difficult to control and burning embers will threaten homes before the main fire. Smoke and ash will also make it difficult to see and breathe.
An evacuation centre is set up at the Westbury Town Hall — located at 26 Lyall Street, Westbury.
There’s 14 Watch and Act messages for the Brittons Link, Riveaux Road and Great Pine Tier bushfires.
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