Updated
Emergency warnings have been issued for Miena, in Tasmania’s Central Plateau, and Tahune, in the south-east, with people in both areas urged to activate their bushfire survival plans.
A bushfire is expected to put the tiny town of Miena at “very high risk within the next two hours”.
The Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) said between 30 and 40 people had been evacuated from the community.
In their warning, the TFS said burning embers falling on Miena “will threaten homes before the main fire” with people urged to “go to a safer location now only if the path is clear” if their homes are unprepared for high-risk fires.
“This fire will be difficult to control. Smoke and ash will make it difficult to see and breathe,” the warning read.
The TFS advised that “if it is safe, drive towards Poatina or Bothwell”.
There is an evacuation centre at Bothwell Town Hall on Alexander Street in Bothwell, the TFS said.
“There is a nearby safer place at Miena Community Hall,” it added.
The fire at Tahune will also put areas in the vicinity of the Tahune Airwalk, Riveaux Road, Arve Road and Southwood Road at “very high risk within the next two hours”, TFS said.
The fire is 3 to 4 kilometres from the airwalk — a steel canopy wilderness walkway — which was closed.
“This fire may be uncontrollable and fast-moving. Burning embers threaten your home before the main fire. There may also be smoke, ash and embers falling on other areas of the Huon Valley,” he said.
TFS has issued the following advice for people in areas under the emergency warnings:
- The fires will be difficult to control
- Smoke and ash will make it difficult to see and breathe
- If your home is unprepared go to a safer location now only if the path is clear
- If your family has made a bushfire survival plan, use it now
- If you don’t live near one of the emergency areas, stay away
- Listen to ABC Local Radio or visit www.fire.tas.gov.au for more information
In addition to the two emergency warnings, there are watch and act alerts in place in the communities of Shannon and Barren Tier due to the fire in the Central Plateau.
The fire may put the small settlements, which are east of Miena, at high risk this afternoon.
Smoke hazard blanketing towns
Haze from bushfire smoke was this morning blanketing several Tasmanian towns, with hot and dry conditions across the state and more than 30 blazes already burning setting the scene for a nervous few days.
South of Hobart, at Cygnet, Huonville, Judbury and Geeveston, air-quality monitoring data measured smoke particles at 8:00am as being at highly elevated levels, with Geeveston at 35 times that of Hobart.
The Tasmanian Health Department said all Tasmanians should minimise exposure to smoke “whenever possible” and cautioned that simple paper and cloth masks “do not protect you from fine particles or other toxins in smoke”.
“Generally, it is better to stay indoors to reduce your exposure to the smoke,” the department said in a statement.
Residents living in the Huon Valley, where smoke from the bushfire at Gell River has filled the sky, posted on social media that many had not seen conditions as bad, with some mentioning 1967 as the only year which came close — the year of Tasmania’s worst fire disaster.
New Zealand firefighters set to join ranks
The TFS has announced that Tuesday, Thursday and Friday will be days of total fire bans.
Acting station officer Darren Gye said authorities were doing everything they could to prepare for the upcoming hot conditions.
“Even with all the fantastic success we’ve had so far, fire under those conditions is going to be extremely difficult to control and we can expect that it is likely that some of those containment lines may not hold.”
“We’ve been liaising with police and SES and plans are in place, we’ve doorknocked the area plans are in place for those people to either stay and defend or there is a plan to evacuate if conditions worsen.”
The joint firefighting effort is set to be further expanded, with more firefighters from New South Wales and New Zealand expected to fly into Tasmania in the next few days, joining the 115 interstate personnel already here.
The TFS’ Jeff Harper with the number of fires ongoing and the hot, dry conditions at present, local crews needed all the help they can get.
“We will start to position some of our assets and resources so it provides us the ability to go and hit any new starts that we have on those days to try and contain those new starts to [be] as small as possible,” he said.
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