Tasmanian fire crews continue to battle blazes at Fingal and Pelham
Property owners returning home to survey the damage from the 1600ha Pelham blaze have been greeted with some devastating sights.
Tasmania
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UPDATED: FIREFIGHTERS are continuing to battle a series of bushfires burning across Tasmania.
The Tasmania Fire Service said there is currently one emergency warning, six watch and act alerts and two advice messages in place.
The fires of greatest concern are the complex of fires near Fingal and the fire at Pelham. The Fingal complex of fires includes Mangana Road, Mt Malcolm and Abrahams Link and has burnt over 6600ha, with a perimeter of 42km.
The fire ate Mathinna Rd, form Fingal to Mathinna remains at an emergency level, with watch and act alerts still active for Mangana, Fingal and surrounds, Valley Rd in Fingal, the Tower Hill area, Elderslie and Broadmarsh, and Pelham and surrounding areas.
Regional fire controller Ian Bounds said the Mangana Road fire was believed to have been deliberately lit and is currently being investigated by police.
“It is disappointing for the community to see this type of behaviour occurring where lives and communities are put at risk,” Mr Bounds said.
“Westerly winds are an influencing factor in increasing the fire behaviour and there is quite a lot of smoke in the air. For the last two days fire conditions have escalated in the afternoon and early evening bringing parts of the Fingal complex back up to an emergency warning level.”
Ash has been reported as falling as far away as Falmouth, and people need to be aware of smoke and ash falling out towards the East Coast. A smoke alert is in place for the Fingal Valley through to St Marys.
Other fires of concern in Tasmania include:
Pearce Basin (Strathgordon), which is about 3000ha in size.
Foochow, Flinders Island, which is about 2200ha and uncontained.
There are watch and act warnings in place for the Pelham Road fire and an advice warning in place for the Pearce Basin fire.
A community meeting is planned for Broadmarsh on January 2 at 6.30pm at the Broadmarsh Hall. All community members in the area affected by the fire are encouraged to attend.
The TFS said its focus for the Fingal blazes was around protecting communities.
For the Pelham blaze, crews are working to establish water points to extinguish hot spots and edges. Containing this area is identified as a priority, however the terrain is proving difficult.
The Pearce Basin fire is being water bombed and remote area crews are working on hot spots that were identified from infra-red scans this morning.
The TFS said there were likely to be more community meetings regarding the Fingal fires.
EARLIER: Property owners returning home to survey the damage from the 1600ha Pelham blaze have been greeted with some devastating sights.
David Curtis, who left his home on Monday night with flames on three sides of the colonial building, found many of his animals had died in the blaze and many outbuildings had been destroyed, including his well-equipped home-brewing and home-butchery sheds, water tanks and several kilometres of fencing.
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EARLIER: A bushfire emergency warning has been issued for Mathinna Road, Fingal through to Mathinna, in Tasmania’s North-East.
The bushfire, which was first reported at Managana Rd, Fingal, will put Mathinna Rd, Fingal through to Mathinna, at high risk now.
Burning embers falling in the area will threaten homes before the main fire, while smoke and ash will make it difficult to see and breathe.
The Tasmania Fire Service said if you are north of Moonameeta, evacuate to Mathinna.
If your home is well prepared for high risk fires and you can actively defend it, it should provide shelter, but if it is unprepared go to a safer location, only if the path is clear.
There is an evacuation centre at Fingal Neighbourhood House, 30 Talbot St, Fingal.
For more information, visit the TFS website or listen to ABC local radio.
EARLIER: The Parks and Wildlife Service has extended campfire restrictions to parks in Tasmania’s south as a result of the current dry conditions.
Restrictions now apply to parks including Bruny Island, Cockle Creek, and Mount Field National Park due to the increased risk of campfires escaping to become bushfires.
For the full list of campfire restrictions, visit the Parks website.
EARLIER: Firefighters will spend today and tomorrow making the most of a reduction in fire danger to consolidate edges and contain blazes as they battle four major bushfire in the Tasmanian landscape.
Tasmania Fire Service public information officer Peter Middleton said major bushfires were active at Fingal in Tasmania’s north-east, Pelham in the Derwent Valley, Pearce Basin in the Southwest, and at Foochow Conservation Area on Flinders Island.
Four watch and act alerts and one advice message were active for the bushfire at Fingal at 9.30am, while two watch and act alerts were current for a bushfire at Pelham.
An advice message was current for the fire at Pearce Basin.
Mr Middleton said the Fingal fire had burnt in excess of 5000ha, had a 36km, and was on an emergency warning until late on Tuesday.
“We have got a number of road closures on that fire because of dangerous trees and powerlines and we’re not able to get people back into homes in that area right at the moment, until we deem it safe,” he said.
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He said the other major fire of concern was at Pelham.
“That’s burnt over 2000ha and that’s still on a watch and act warning, it’s got about a 26km perimeter, and there’s a lot of edge on that fire that we’ve machinery, aircraft, and firefighters working on to consolidate the edge before warmer weather is likely to come in on Saturday,” he said.
Community meetings were held at Fingal and Pelham last night.
Mr Middleton said the Pearce Basin fire had burnt over 3000ha.
“We’ve been able to fly [over] that this morning with an infra-red scan and the intention is that we’ll be able to map that accurately and then do some direct attack firefighting to try and get a better handle on that fire before the warmer weather,” he said.
“The fourth [bushfire] of note is a fire on Flinders Island at a place called Foochow, and that’s burnt over 2000ha as well, and certainly we’re working on that with the Parks and Wildlife Service to put some strategies in place to wrap that up to the best that we can before the warmer weather.”
Mr Middleton said crews would try and make the most of a reduction in fire danger today and tomorrow.
“[We will be looking to] consolidate fire edges and try and get some better containment, particularly around communities, and also protecting natural and cultural values is a major part of what we’re doing,” he said.
Mr Middleton said with a lot of people packing up from camping into the New Year, people needed to unsure any campfires were “well and truly extinguished and checked before they leave”.
‘WE JUST DECIDED TO GET OUT WHILE WE COULD’
EARLIER: SIX watch and act alerts remain in place this morning for two Tasmanian blazes.
Four watch and act alerts are in place for a fire at Mangana Rd, Fingal, in the state’s north-east. The alerts are for Mangana, Fingal and surrounds, the Tower Hill area, and Mathinna Rd and Evercreech Property.
There is also an advice message for Royal George Rd and Nowhere Else for the same bushfire.
Watch and act alerts are in place for Elderslie and Broadmarsh and Pelham and surrounding for a bushfire at Pelham in the Derwent Valley.
An advice message is in place for Pearce Basin, Southwest, for a fire at Pearce Basin, north of Strathgordon.
For up-to-date information, visit the Tasmania Fire Service website or listen to ABC local radio.
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