Statewide fire ban lifted as bushfires continue to rage
UPDATED, 3.15pm: A bushfire warning has been issued for North of Geeveston as the TFS declares the area to be currently very high risk.
Tasmania
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UPDATED: 3.15PM FIREFIGHTERS are planning their defence from Port Huon in the Huon Valley as an out-of-control bushfire burns threatens towns south of Franklin and Castle Forbes Bay, with residents saying the smoke is the worst they’ve seen this week.
An emergency warning was issued earlier today by the TFS for areas immediately north of Geeveston.
Ash has begun falling on Port Huon and thick smoke has blanketed the town’s marina.
Police were seen door knocking homes in Port Huon taking the names of residents.
A firefighting strike team is currently based outside the Kermandie Hotel in Port Huon, ready to tackle any spot fires that may flare up.
Scores of cars have been seen heading north towards Huonville after an emergency warning was issued for the area earlier today urging residents to evacuate to Huonville if the path is clear or to seek alternative shelter.
Seven emergency warnings are currently in place, covering the area of Bermuda Rd, south of Judbury; Castle Forbes Bay, Geeveston, Port Huon, Cairns Bay and Waterloo; Judbury; Glen Huon; Lonnavale; and north of Geeveston
Jean Banks Rd at Waddamana and Hermitage, on the Central Plateau, was earlier declared an emergency area.
UPDATED: 2.40PM: THE TFS has updated its bushfire emergency warning to cover areas immediately north of Geeveston.
Seven emergency warnings are currently in place, covering the area of Bermuda Rd, south of Judbury; Castle Forbes Bay, Geeveston, Port Huon, Cairns Bay and Waterloo; Judbury; Glen Huon; Lonnavale; and north of Geeveston.
Jean Banks Rd at Waddamana and Hermitage, on the Central Plateau, was earlier today declared an emergency area.
UPDATED: 1.32PM: HOMEOWNERS in the Huon Valley have been told that an area from Franklin to Geeveston is the main area of concern for the Tasmania Fire Service which fighting a major bushfire in the area.
The Huon Highway has been closed southbound at the Huonville Bridge due to the threat and there are emergency warnings current for Judbury, Glen Huon, Lonnavale, Castle Forbes Bay, Geeveston, north of Geeveston, Port Huon, Cairns Bay, Waterloo.
The area the TFS is focused on stretches from Swamp Road at Franklin to Castle Forbes Bay — with residents warned to be on high alert.
A community briefing at Huonville this afternoon was told that the outskirts of populated areas were likely to be impacted today by the fire.
“The wind is pushing this today, it is going to be very active in a south-easterly direction,” a Tasmania Fire Service spokesman told the meeting.
“The wind is not helping us at all. There was a lot of fire activity overnight. As the morning progressed, there was more and more activity.
“If you don’t need to be there, you should leave,” he said. “You need to make smart decisions.”
Smoke would be heavy in the areas ahead of the fire, the TFS said.
UPDATED, 12.40PM: The Tasmania Fire Service has issued a bushfire emergency warning for residents in the Castle Forbes Bay and Geeveston area.
The uncontrolled bushfire at Riveaux Rd will put Port Huon, Cairns Bay, Waterloo, Castle Forbes Bay and Geeveston at very high risk within the next two hours.
Six other emergency warnings remain in place in the Huon Valley, along with nineWatch and Act alerts for the Southwest and the Central Plateau.
A bushfire emergency warning has also been issued for Jean Banks Road at Waddamana on the Central Plateau.
The TFS warn the fire will put the road at very high risk within 2-4 hours.
Tasmania Police are also advising motorists that the Huon Highway at the Huonville Bridge is closed to southbound traffic as the fire threats those communities.
UPDATED 12.10PM: Premier Will Hodgman has issued a statement on the bushfires crisis, saying the government is working closely with affected councils to provide support for Tasmanians who have left their homes.
“Evacuation Centres are open in Huonville, Bothwell and Hamilton to provide safe shelter, personal support and counselling to Tasmanians as they heed Tasmania Fire Service advice to leave areas likely to be impacted by fires and ember attacks,” he said.
“Tasmanians affected by the fires in the Huon and Central Highlands areas who require clothing, food, transport, shelter and personal items may be able to access emergency housing support and assistance grants at the Huonville and Hamilton Evacuation Centres.
People in need of assistance are asked to bring photo identification with proof of address as this will be used to confirm eligibility for the grant, which will be provided by cheque.
Mr Hodgman said the ANZ (11am-3pm) and Commonwealth Bank (10am-2pm) branches in Huonville are open today to cash cheques.
“Thank you to the banks and their staff for opening on a public holiday to enable Tasmanians to access this assistance.
“The grants are being provided through the jointly funded Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
“The Government’s Regional Social Recovery Coordinators are working closely with council staff to assess the needs of Tasmanians impacted by fires in other areas of the state.
“The Government and the community are extremely grateful for the work of our dedicated volunteer and career firefighters, as well as those from interstate and New Zealand, who continue to work to protect life and property in these hot and difficult conditions.”
UPDATED, 10am: The bushfire alert level in the Central Highlands has been downgraded, but five emergency warnings remain in the Huon Valley this morning.
There was an emergency warning for the eastern edge of Lake Echo, south of Shannon, Waddamana, Synots Sugarloaf, and Bashsan Plains this morning, but that was downgraded to watch and act just after 9.30am.
Emergency warnings remain at Judbury, Glen Huon, Lonnavale, north of Geeveston, and the area of Bermuda Rd, south of Judbury, last updated by the Tasmania Fire Service shortly before 10am.
UPDATED, 9am: Five bushfire emergency warnings remain in place in the Huon Valley this morning after a relatively stress-free night for fire crews.
There are emergency warnings for Judbury, Glen Huon, Lonnavale, north of Geeveston, and the area of Bermuda Rd, south of Judbury, last updated by the TFS just after 8am.
The Tasmania Fire Service has also issued an emergency warning for the eastern edge of Lake Echo, south of Shannon, Waddamana, Synots Sugarloaf, and Bashsan Plains in the Central Highlands.
Seven watch and acts alerts are also in place this morning, along with 19 advice alerts.
“Overnight, conditions enabled firefighters to remain in patrol mode,” TFS station officer, state operations Darren Gye said.
“[The two] main fires that we’re concerned about are Riveaux Rd [south of Hobart] and the southern end of the Great Pine Tier fire.
“They burnt overnight and continued to burn overnight, however none of them presented too many challenges to our fire crews.”
Mr Gye said crews undertook door knocking in the Judbury area last night.
“That was just to ensure that residents were aware that we were around and getting an idea of who had stayed behind and who had left,” he said.
Mr Gye said temperatures today were expected to be warmer than yesterday, with some places to reach up to 30C.
“We’re expecting, again, some north, north-westerly winds, which we are expecting to push those fires in a south-easterly direction,” he said.
“We want people to remain vigilant, we want people to stay informed by looking at the TFS website and listening to ABC local radio.
“If they are spending time in the bush today, they really do need to reconsider their plans, or at the very least, make sure they know where they are in relation to the fires in the landscape, and what they will do if the fire comes towards them.”
Cooler conditions are not expected until Wednesday night, with Hobart predicted to reach a top of 29C tomorrow — with inland areas in the southeast to reach up to the mid-30s — and 31C on Wednesday.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Rachel McInerney said a change in the weather will reach the West Coast late on Wednesday.
“We are expecting that change to reach the southwest coast in the late evening, so we’ll start to see a few more showers push into there late in the day,” Ms McInerney said.
“We are also looking at potential for some thunderstorms about the northeast of the state in the afternoon and evening.
“The main change, though, moves across the whole state overnight Wednesday into Thursday, so that’s when we’ll see showers potentially extend throughout.
“We’re still not expecting huge amounts of rainfall with that system … but [there will be] cooler conditions in behind that change on Thursday, so for Hobart at the moment we’re looking at a top of 19C.”
A statewide total fire ban ended at 2am this morning, although further bans are possible with hot weather expected this week.
8.30PM UPDATE: Waterbombing and ground crews have so far protected two timber mills in the area of the Huon Valley bushfires today.
The Ta Ann Tasmania veneer mill and the adjoining Neville Smith Forest Industries sawmill on the Southwood Rd site at Lonnavale have so far survived ember and fire-edge attacks from bushfires but are still under threat.
Ta Ann Tasmania general manager Robert Yong said firefighters from the Tasmanian Fire Service, Sustainable Timber Tasmania, contractors, and crews from Neville Smith and Ta Ann work working closely to protect the two mills.
“We thank the crews who have done an excellent job in extreme conditions to protect these mills which employ so many people,” Mr Yong said.
He said TFS aerial crews had waterbombed where the fires entered the site and employees were continuing to dampen logs and wet down the western boundary of the site.
Mr Yong said electrical power from the Geeveston substation to the Southwood site had been cut off and only emergency generators were operating to run sprays and firefighting equipment.
“The wildfire continues to run north of the mill in thick forest. With the winds forecast to be north and westerly there will continue to be a threat to the mill and the site is unsafe for normal work.”
Mr Yong said that even in the best case scenario the mill would remain closed for at least a week.
“Until the TFS confirms that the risk of fresh embers from the main fire striking the mill is over the mill cannot recommence operations. We will also need to have power reconnected and then have maintenance and safety checking for the equipment in the mill.”
The TFS a short while ago announced that the Hermitage fire in the Central Highlands has been downgraded from an Emergency Warning to “Watch and Act”.
At 8.30pm there remains six Emergency Warnings, seven Watch and Act, and 19 fires at “Advice” level across Tasmania.
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