Mountain-top rescue as 5500 lightning strikes spark fires in remote Tasmanian national parks
Firefighters are currently battling 70 bushfires across the state, but that number is expected to rise as more take hold over coming days.
Tasmania
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UPDATED: Firefighters are currently battling 70 bushfires across the state, but that number is expected to rise as more take hold over coming days.
About 2500 dry lightning strikes have hit the ground in the past 48 hours, with many sparking fires in rugged and inaccessible terrain.
Tasmania Fire Service State Fire Controller Bruce Byatt said the focus was containing “new start” fires as quickly as possible.
“The amount of lightning strikes that have hit landfall are considerable and more fires, I’m sure, will be identified as days progress,” he said.
“Fires will continue to be detected and we expect that number to rise from the current 70.
“We are trying to contain as many fires as we can with the available resources as early as we can.”
Mr Byatt said the TFS would be making an additional request for remote area firefighting teams from interstate.
He the fixed-wing airtankers from Victoria had also assisted firefighting efforts today.
“We’ll have that requirement for interstate assistance going for a number of weeks yet,” he said.
EARLIER: The Tasmania Fire Service has issued an emergency warning for a blaze burning at Great Pine Tier on the state’s Central Plateau.
“A large fire in the Great Pine Tier region is currently highly active and unpredictable,” it said.
“TFS and the Parks and Wildlife Service strongly recommend avoiding the areas of Fergus Lake and Little Pine Lagoon.
“People in the immediate area should leave without delay in an easterly direction if safe to do so towards Marlborough Road and proceed either west to Miena or south to Bronte Park.
“The fire is expected to put Lake Fergus and Great Pine Tier at risk within two to six hours.
“The fire danger will be very high. Fire under these conditions will be uncontrollable and unpredictable.”
By early afternoon today, the fire had burned through 269ha.
The view from a flight into Hobart as a bushfire burns in central Tasmania. About 5500 lightning strikes sparked more than 30 fires across the state overnight @themercurycomau pic.twitter.com/Ugovy7HDwL
— Jack Paynter (@jackpayn) January 16, 2019
EARLIER: PARTS of Wellington Park have been closed and the Tasmania Fire Service has issued bushfire advice messages for three blazes burning in the state’s South.
The messages were issued about fires burning at the Tom Thumb area in Wellington Park, Cranes Rd in Dromedary, and Lower Wattle Grove near Cygnet.
The TFS said there was no immediate threat from the fires, but they would be difficult to control under current conditions.
Tom Thumb is a popular bushwalking destination in the Wellington Park.
Park management described the fire as small and said the Big Bend Trail, the Mount Connection Track and the Knights Creek Track has been closed until the fire was under control.
Six fire crews were tackling the fire at Dromedary early this afternoon.
The Wattle Creek blaze was located near the Cygnet Coast Rd but posed no immediate threat, the TFS said.
Marlborough Highway motorists travelling between Myena and Bronte Park, in the Central Highlands, were being urged to drive with extreme caution and limit non-urgent travel because of smoke from a bushfire in the area.
There were also advice messages current for fires near Lake Fergus and the Great Pine Tier on the Central Plateau and at Gell River in the state’s Southwest.
Residents in fire-affected areas should keep up to date by listening to ABC Local radio and monitoring the TFS website.
For current road closures, visit the Tasmania Police website.
EARLIER: SIXTY-FIVE bushfires are burning across Tasmania after the state was swept by a band of dry lightning on Tuesday night.
Thousands of lightning strikes were recorded across the state late yesterday, many sparking fires.
Tasmania Fire Service, the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service and Sustainable Timber Tasmania were today identifying and assessing the many fires caused by the extreme weather event.
TFS Southern Region Fire Controller Mark Dobson said some of the fires were burning in rugged and inaccessible terrain and would be challenging to contain.
“We have several fires that we have identified through members of the public and strategic spotter flights yesterday and this morning.
“However, due to the sheer amount of lightning strikes that hit landfall across a broad area, more fires may be identified as the days progress.
“We are trying to contain as many fires as we can with the available resources as early as we can, however some fires, in particular the fire burning at Pine River in the state’s Central Highlands, grew quickly before it was discovered.”
There are two advice warnings in place for the areas of Lake Fergus in the Central Plateau from a fire burning and Maydena, Tyenna, Mount Field and National Park.
TFS urged the public to monitor the fire service website for up-to-date fire information and to report any fires by phoning triple-0.
Several fires in proximity of each other continue to burn in the Southwest National Park.
People have been urged to reconsider any leisure activities, including bushwalking, in the Southwest National Park and Hartz Mountains National Park until all fires are identified.
EARLIER: POLICE have rescued three bushwalkers from the bushfire-affected Western Arthur range in Tasmania as crews scramble to assess the impact of an estimated 5500 lightning strikes.
A police spokesman said three bushwalkers on the popular bushwalking route called for help about 8pm yesterday.
They were concerned for their safety because of a bushfire sparked by a lightning strike.
“The three men, who were two days into a hike, were removed from the area by helicopter,” the spokesman said.
“Police are carefully monitoring the situation and, at this stage, will respond to calls for assistance on a case-by-case basis.”
Tasmanian firefighters are today assessing the impact of thousands of dry lightning strikes across the state which have left about 30 bushfires in their wake.
MORE:
LIGHTNING STRIKES SPARK 30 BUSHFIRES, CUT POWER
WEIRD WEATHER CONDITIONS ROLL IN ACROSS TASMANIA
A major fire which has ripped 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 websites and social media feeds, by checking in at visitors centres and by heeding the advice of parks staff and notices at track heads.
TFS spokesman Peter Middleton urged members of the public to be vigilant.
“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.
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