Fire in Canberra: crews try to control the Pierces Creek fire after reducing the alert level last night



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Update

November 03, 2018 08:42:07

Firefighters said the fight to control a bush fire in Brindabella ranges, west of Canberra, will continue on the ground and in the air, after the alert level has been lowered to "monitor and act To "advice".

A thunderstorm Friday afternoon had only minimal effects on the fire, which had reached 175 hectares on Saturday morning, the rain barely reaching the site.

Key points:

  • A bush fire in southwestern ACT is still seven kilometers from the nearest suburb
  • The fire is 175 hectares, with no immediate threat to the houses
  • A thunderstorm caused strong winds over Canberra last night, but only 1.4 millimeters of rain reached the fire pit.

The fire started at Pierces Creek on Thursday night and quickly headed for Canberra on Friday, reaching eight kilometers from the suburbs closest to Kambah for most of the day.

At 8 o'clock on Saturday, he was seven kilometers from the suburbs.

ACT's emergency services agency said the fire was still not under control, but there was no immediate danger to the community.

Incident Manager Paul Flynn said that the return of fire by 10 firefighters during the night was responsible for much of the fire zone.

He added that they would continue to try to extinguish the fire, especially on the east side that faces the city of Canberra.

"We will always try to stop the fire by cutting the lines of fire, especially on the east side, because it is on the side of the city and we are still worried about it," he said.

"But we were pretty good at keeping things in the west and south fire direction."

He said five helicopters, two graders and three bulldozers would today support 13 firefighting firefighting services from ACT (ACT) rural fire departments. ..

The "erratic" fire has spent more than 12 hours on alert "watch and act" on Friday.

In the afternoon, firefighters began to go door-to-door along the urban outskirts between Kambah and Gordon as part of an "educational activity" intended to call back to the locals what the level of alert meant and what they should do to prepare themselves. had in place.

ESA said the staff had visited 400 to 700 homes, which remained on hold, without official evacuation or threat of property.

Galileo School in Kambah was evacuated in the morning, but all other ACT schools functioned normally.

More than 20 ACT fire teams were involved in the fight, as well as six water bombers.

New South Wales firefighters were also laid off to help but were eventually sent home late in the afternoon.

The storm that hit the city at night slightly dampened the conditions of the terrain.

The fires received only 1.4 millimeters of rain, but the temperature dropped and the humidity in the area increased.

Authorities warned that the fire was heading south-east on steep terrain, with a storm that caused violent and destructive winds in the evening.

Several trees in Canberra have been knocked down and parts of the city have lost their power.

There was also a haze on the city, but ESA said it was dust from the inland New South Wales, rather than smoke from the fire.

Rural properties in greater danger

Commissioner of Emergency Services, ACT Dominic Lane, said that despite the fact that the fire was not immediately threatening the suburbs of Canberra, rural properties could be at risk because Fire was difficult to predict.

"The main threat at the present time concerns the rural areas around Pierces Creek and Tidbinbilla – that is why we have fire-fighting resources to protect these houses and the surrounding dependencies of these farms," did he declare.

"But in Canberra, because of the nature of our city and the proximity of the bush in many parts of Canberra, homes in this area exposed to bush fires will be threatened if the fire gets closer

A destroyed car set off a fire

Firefighters claimed that the fire had originated in a burning car and had taken root in the nearby pine forest.

About 150 grade three and four students from Miles Franklin Elementary School, who had attended the Birrigai Outdoor School in Tidbinbilla, were evacuated without a problem on Friday morning.

Student Kaleb Swan said the group was fighting smoke when leaving the area.

"We had to leave early and miss an activity so we could get away from the bush fires because the wind was heading towards Birragai, like a bush fire," he said.

"And we too were choking a bit on the smoke and we wanted to go home."

Bring back memories of 2003

Anything near a fire situation in Canberra inevitably triggers the memory of the 2003 bushfires that killed four people and destroyed nearly 500 homes.

Laurence Buchanan lost her home in Duffy 15 years ago and stated that there had been no warnings at that time and that he had not received a lot of Alert about the last bush fire.

"It brings back many memories of 2003," he said.

"When you lose everything, the threat of anything like that gives you goose bumps.

"I'm waiting for people to be here to warn us and there is no warning."

Local handlers Lucy and Isabelle evacuated their animals as a precaution.

"We were children at the time of the serious fires, so we really know the consequences," said Lucy.

"We still have a bushfire season plan and our evacuation is anticipated.

"Prevention is better than cure."

Exhibition Park, in the northern suburbs, offered free stables to those in need.

Topics:

bushfire,

disasters and accidents,

fires,

emergency incidents,

canberra-2600,

act,

Australia

First posted

02 November 2018 07:01:32

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