Strikes set off fires
Spectacular dry lightning strikes sparked a series of small vegetation fires around the South-East last night. About 20 fires started in the Huon Valley, with the Tasmania Fire Service issuing advice for the Wattle Grove area late last night. Lightning lit up the sky around Hobart, including this strike near Mt Direction, as seen from Lindisfarne.
ANOTHER wave of dry lighting strikes sparked about 40 vegetation fires last night, mainly in South-East Tasmania.
About 20 vegetation fires sprang up in the Huon region last night as a dry lightning storm rolled across the SouthEast after 7pm, crossing Hobart about 8.30pm.
A further 19 vegetation fires were listed by the Tasmania Fire Service between 8.30 and 9.10pm as lightning spread throughout the South-East.
Fires were reported in Wellington Park, the Derwent Valley, Central Highlands, Southern Midlands and the Tasman and Forestier peninsulas.
The Tasmania Fire Service issued an advice alert for the Wattle Grove area because of several fires started by lightning, but the advice was later downgraded.
Last night advice alerts remained in place for Lake Fergus on the Central Plateau and the ongoing fire at Gell River in the South-West.
None of the vegetation fires were listed as threatening communities last night, but very high fire dangers are expected in some areas today, with little rain expected in coming days.
Last night’s new fires followed more than 20 bushfires sparked on Monday night by more than 1200 lightning strikes.
TFS Southern Regional Fire Controller Mark Dobson said Tasmania’s midlands and northeast would continue to be the danger zones in the hot days to come. He said a combination of dry lightning activity and hot temperatures were a bad fire recipe but so far the winds had remained calm.
Crews continue to work on the Gell River fire deep in Tasmania's South-West and people in Maydena, Tyenna, Mount Field and National Park to listen to ABC Local Radio and keep an eye on the TFS website.
“This fire is taking up most of our resources but we now need crews in the Fingal Valley, Bothwell and the Central Highlands,” Mr Dobson said. The TFS has warned the state will be in the grip of a very high fire danger period until Friday when a cold front will cool things and bring rain.
“People in bushfire prone areas need to understand that under these conditions, fires can start and spread easily.
“TFS has pre-positioned crews and aircraft to allow us to respond to fires quickly in the areas most at risk,” Mr Dobson said.
Police, Fire and Emergency Management Minister Michael Ferguson urged Tasmanians to be vigilant.