Out-of-control bushfire puts small township in the danger zone

UPDATED: One watch and act bushfire alert and two advice messages are active across Tasmania this morning.

UPDATED: A BUSHFIRE near Bothwell in Tasmania’s Central Highlands remains at watch and act level this morning.

The alert is for the area of Interlaken and Lake Crescent, south of Interlaken Rd.

Blazes at Elderslie and Glenfern, in the state’s south, are at advice level.

The alert area for the Elderslie fire encompasses Yearsley Rd, Grahams Creek Rd, Storeys Rd, Church Rd and Broadmarsh.

The alert area for the Glenfern blaze includes Moss Beds Rd, Top Swamp Rd and surrounding areas, and Lachlan.

Up-to-date information is available at the Tasmania Fire Service website.

EARLIER: AN out-of-control bushfire near Bothwell continues to rage, putting a small community in the Central Highlands at risk.

Firefighters were withdrawn from the blaze, which is more than 236ha in size, just before 8pm as it was no longer considered safe to continue operations in the dark.

The Tasmania Fire Service issued several emergency warnings for Interlaken and Lake Crescent telling people the safest thing to do was leave well before the fire hits.

The alert level was downgraded to a watch and act at 8.30pm.

“This fire may put Interlaken and Lake Crescent, south of Interlaken Road, at high risk within 2-6 hours,” the message read.

“Embers, smoke and ash falling on Interlaken and Lake Crescent could threaten your home earlier than the main fire.

“Fire under these conditions can be uncontrollable. There will be no fire crews in the area overnight, as it is unsafe.”

REPLAY HOW THE DAY’S FIRE ACTION PLAYED OUT

Firefighters are still dealing with 20 active blazes statewide — 12 going and eight on patrol.

Two inaccessible bushfires in the state’s South at Elderslie and Lachlan are not contained but remain at advice level as they are not posing an immediate threat to communities.

TFS State Fire Controller Shane Batt praised the public for listening to the warnings and reporting any new fires promptly to triple-0.

“Fire agencies have responded to 15 new fires in the last 24 hours and with our rapid response, have been able to control and extinguish the majority of them,” he said.

“Fire danger ratings similar to today will continue into tomorrow, with parts of the Derwent Valley and east of Hobart expecting to reach severe.”

A fire at Glenfern, near Lachlan. Picture: LACHLAN FIRE BRIGADE

A total fire ban will run until 2am on Saturday in the Brighton, Derwent Valley, Hobart, Sorell, Central Highlands, Glamorgan Spring Bay, Huon Valley, Southern Midlands, Clarence, Glenorchy, Kingborough and Tasman municipalities.

“The total fire ban remains in place for the southern region and we again urge people to adhere to that ban and not light or cause any fires to be lit in the open,” Mr Batt said.

“Fire agencies will have pre-positioned strike teams and aircraft in place to ensure any fires that do start can be responded to quickly.”

Hobart reached a top of 26.9C on Thursday. The scorcher saw a new October weather record set, with Hobart temperatures exceeding 25C on six days, surpassing the five occasions in 2015 and 1991.

A high pressure system over the Tasman Sea will continue to direct hot and fresh north to north-westerly winds across parts of East, South and inland Tasmania on Friday, bringing temperatures into the low-30s and north-westerly winds of 35-45km/h.

A very high fire danger is forecast for the North East, Central Plateau, Midlands, East Coast, Upper Derwent Valley and South East districts.

Hobart is expected to reach a top of 32C after a warm overnight low of 18C.

“Hot and dry north-westerly winds will freshen over Tasmania on Friday afternoon ahead of a cold front to come through overnight and into Saturday morning, which will bring some welcomed rain,” meteorologist Luke Johnston said.