Panic, confusion in dark day for Maydena as Gell River bushfire continues to burn

Maydena residents say a lack of accurate and timely information about the bushfire burning northwest of the town caused unnecessary panic in their community.

Township of Westerway about 2pm. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

MAYDENA residents say a lack of accurate and timely information about the bushfire burning at Gell River, northwest of the town, caused unnecessary panic in their community.

Maydena Community Association president Tim Parkes said there was a feeling that a “communication breakdown” had occurred between emergency services and the public.

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“People were panicking, understandably. It looked like an apocalypse,” he said.

“But it looked a lot worse than it was.

“It was an incredibly dramatic event and there should’ve been someone on the ground reassuring people with the right information.”

Mr Parkes said a community meeting held on Saturday at the Maydena Hall cleared up many concerns held by those feeling vulnerable.

Geoff Williams operates Railtrack Riders between Maydena and National Park. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

“At the end of the meeting, everybody gave the Tasmania Fire Service and Tasmania Parks and Wildlife service a round of applause,” he said.

“Any questions, comments and suggestions put forward at the meeting were addressed.

“They didn't leave any stones unturned. They said they could’ve done things better but because of the situation and change in weather, all of sudden a crisis landed in their lap.”

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Jason Raspin, who has lived at Maydena for about 20 years, evacuated his family to Claremont at the first sign of heavy smoke because he believed the fire was closing in.

“Once it comes over the hill, it’s too late,” Mr Raspin said.

“I grabbed my two dogs and my wife grabbed some photos. The rest is insured.

“Then we went up to my daughter’s place, loaded her four little kids and dog into the car and away we went.”

Maydena resident Trevor Ethell with his dogs Ava the German Shepherd and Henry the Jack Russell x. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

Mr Raspin said there was a “line of cars” trying to head out of Maydena.

Gordon River Rd was closed at Westerway to all westbound-traffic on advice from TFS because of reported fire embers and ash in the area.

Karen Bennett, who moved to Maydena from West Hobart about 15 months ago, loaded her car with her most important and treasured belongings after reading a “watch and act” message on the TFS website.

“There was ash falling everywhere, it was like snow,” she said.

“I don’t have a smartphone and I’d packed my computer ready to go.

“ABC radio had the same reports on all day, saying there could be an ember attack.

Maydena resident Karen Bennett was packed and ready to leave if the fire approached the town. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

“There was no mention of a central location for local information.

“I just waited.”

Adding to her confusion, an online TFS information page Ms Bennett printed out named Maydena Primary School as a “safer place” despite the fact that the school closed in 2013 and became the Maydena Bike Park premises.

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Ms Bennett’s neighbour Hilary Rumley, 75, said she was only made aware of the fire after a concerned friend knocked on her door.

“I’ve been here for 50 years and I’ve never seen anything like that before,” she said.

“I know the firefighters are busy but no one official came to check on me. I only had the radio.

“It was a terrible day. I had to sit at my window and watch the smoke.

Smoke haze from the fire at Gell River, seen near Glenora. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

“I didn’t know if I should stay or go. I never want another day like that.”

Retired teacher Trevor Ethell, 72, remained calm and relied on his knowledge of past bushfires to guide his actions.

“Between 9am and 10am, it was like having a heavy thunderstorm in the middle of the day, it was quite dark,” he said.

“However, having lived through bushfires in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, it wasn’t anywhere near rushing over the top of us.

“Other people, who were afraid evacuated, but I watched the cricket.

“Nobody needed to go anywhere, the fire was a long way away and the warnings were regularly updated.”

Maydena resident Jason Raspin was ready to evacuate his family on Friday from Maydena. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

Railtrack Riders volunteer operations manager, Geoff Williams, said the visible smoke was continuing to affect business at their Maydena and Mt Field National Park stations.

“Unfortunately, we’ve lost some customers over the past few days but we’re encouraging people to come back,” Mr Williams said.

Expected extreme weather conditions were publicised by TFS and BOM in the days before the fire.

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Electronic road signs were also placed around affected townships and community meetings were held at Hamilton and Maydena to answer questions, give advice and address concerns.

For information on fires in Tasmania and general safety advice, contact the Tasmanian Bushfire Information Line on 1800 000 699.