Total fire ban declared for Tasmania’s northern and southern districts as temperatures soar
UPDATED: Six years on from the bushfire that devastated Dunalley and surrounding communities, Tasmania is preparing for a day of very high to severe fire danger.
Tasmania
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SIX years on from the bushfire that devastated Dunalley and surrounding communities, Tasmania is preparing for a day of very high to severe fire danger in the eastern half of the state.
The Tasmania Fire Service has declared a total fire ban for Friday for districts in the North and South, excluding Flinders Island, meaning no fire can be lit in the open.
Southern municipalities affected will be: Brighton, Central Highlands, Clarence, Derwent Valley, Glamorgan-Spring Bay, Glenorchy, Hobart, Huon Valley, Kingborough, Sorell, Southern Midlands and Tasman.
In the north, the total fire ban will apply in the municipalities of: Meander Valley, West Tamar, Break O’Day, Northern Midlands, George Town, Dorset and Launceston.
All outdoor fire, including incinerators, burn-offs, campfires, fire pots and wood-fuelled barbecues will be banned.
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Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Alex Melitsis said the conditions expected would create significant fire danger.
“We’re looking at a really hot day for the eastern and southern half of Tasmania … with severe fire dangers in some areas,” Mr Melitsis said.
“Essentially it’s going to be a sunny day with a strong or strengthening hot northwesterly airstream and a cool change crossing the state during the afternoon.”
Mr Melitsis said the highest temperatures were expected about 2pm before the cool change reaches Hobart then slowly makes its way up the East Coast.
Hobart’s maximum is expected to be 36C, with temperatures approaching 40C in Campania and Richmond. Mr Melitsis said maximum temperatures of 38-39C were expected in the upper Derwent Valley.
Tasmania Fire Service deputy chief officer Bruce Byatt said a number of the fires that started over the Christmas and New Year period were difficult to control, and fires that start tomorrow could be even more difficult to control.
“It is vital that as a community we recognise the risks we face from bushfire, especially on days where the forecast fire danger will make conditions challenging,” Mr Byatt said.
“People can assist with these challenges by promptly reporting fires via triple 0, preparing their properties, reviewing their bushfire survival plans and keeping up-to-date on changing conditions.”
Mr Byatt said of the fires already burning in the state, seven were active fires.
He said crews would patrol all existing fires on Friday so any flare ups could be dealt with quickly.
Extra firefighting aircraft and ground crews will also be on standby.
“Even with our firefighting aircraft and our additional resources on the ground they can only do so much and in these fire conditions, any fire will be difficult to control,” Mr Byatt said.
He urged people to promptly report fires to triple 0, review their bushfire survival plans, and keep up to date with fire conditions by checking the Tasmania Fire Service website or listening to ABC local radio.
Mr Byatt said people should also decide early whether they will stay or leave their property if a fire breaks out in their area.
The fire service warns staying to defend a well-prepared property during a bushfire always carries a risk of injury or death, but it is a reasonable choice if your home is well prepared, you are physically fit and emotionally prepared and fire conditions are less than extreme, which is the second-highest fire danger rating, above very high and severe.
The 24-hour total fire ban comes into effect at 2am on Friday.
On days of total fire ban, all outdoor fires are banned except electric stoves and barbecues.
Gas stoves and barbecues can be used provided they have been cleared of flammable material for at least one metre.
Barbecues and portable stoves using wood, charcoal or other solid or liquid fuel are banned.
Grinding, welding and cutting metal in the open are also banned, and the use of machinery, such as harvesters, may be subject to restrictions or banned.
The Tasmania Fire Service has urged all landowners who have recently had fires on their property to ensure those fires have been extinguished.
Bureau of Meteorology climatologist Ian Barnes-Keoghan said Friday’s predicted temperatures would be 10-15C warmer than would normally be expected at this time of year.
“These temperatures although very high don’t look like they’re going to break any records,” Mr Barnes-Keoghan said.
He said the outlook was for a warmer than average summer.
“Tasmania tends to have its warmest days late January into early February … as we head through the next couple of months, [it is] most likely to be warmer than average, so not just the warmest time of year but warmer on top of that.”
The Parks and Wildlife Service has banned campfires statewide on Friday and a number of walking tracks and campgrounds are closed because of the high fire risk.
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