Overnight Fire Activity 19 January 2014
19/01/2014
Currently there are five fires of significance that continue to burn across the state with two being under a Watch and Act Message;
The Bangor fire in the Southern Flinders Ranges continues to burn freely within an area bounded by Bridle Track, Fiebigs Road, Survey Road and Main North Road between Wirrabara and Melrose. To date the fire has burnt more than 19 000ha of grassland and forested area. Overnight conditions have seen the fire spread slowed significantly which have allowed crews to work on consolidating and strengthening control lines.
Eden Valley is also currently under a Watch and Act Message overnight after conditions on the fire ground eased. The fire is burning between Eden Valley and Truro in the Barossa Valley and has burnt through more than 24 000ha of Grass and Scrub lands. Overnight there were some breakouts of the fire which firefighters managed to get on top of quickly.
Three fires are under a Bushfire Advice Message;
The Riverland Complex has seen a dramatic drop in fire activity with only two of the five fires remaining uncontrolled. Crews have worked overnight to strengthen control lines and black out hot spots. People in the area are advised to keep monitoring the situation and take care on the roads as there is still a lot of smoke in the area.
The Billiatt Conservation Park Fire between Lameroo and Alawoona has burnt through more than 92 000ha of grass, scrub and stubble. Whilst the fire threat has eased people in the area are still being advised to closely monitor the situation for any changes.
The Ngarkat Fire Complex in the Upper South East has burnt more than 71 000ha of grass and scrub land and has had minimal fire behaviour overnight. Crews have continued to patrol the fireground and mop up any hotspots.
During the day multi-agency damage assessment teams have been working on many of the fire effected areas, this task will take some time as they assess the overall damage to properties including homes, out buildings, stock and fencing. To date we have had 15 confirmed homes lost across the state. Seven homes at Eden Valley, Two in Billiatt and Six at Bangor.
Overnight 60 firefighters from New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) arrived in Adelaide to be deployed today to assist firefighting efforts at Eden Valley. This increases our interstate assistance to more than 330 with assistance also provided from the Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Western Australian Department of Fire and Emergency Services.
Although fire and weather conditions have eased across the state CFS is still asking the community to remain vigilant and monitor current fire conditions.
Firebombing aircraft will continue to be used across the state including the additional five resources sourced from Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
For further information please visit the CFS website www.cfs.sa.gov.au or call the CFS Bushfire Information Hotline on 1300 362 361.
