Tasmania residents question absence of fire ban — ABC News Australia
Residents of communities east of Hobart in Australia questioned the absence of a total fire ban over the weekend, when a bushfire broke out near Seven Mile Beach. The fire started on Sunday about 15 kilometres east of Hobart in hot and windy weather and was brought under control by the Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) in the evening, ABC News Australia reports.
Wind gusts of up to 100 km/h were recorded near Hobart that day, while the maximum temperature was 27.1 degrees Celsius. A body of water about 400 metres wide separated the fire from the residential areas of Lewisham and Dodges Ferry. Smoke was moving towards homes.
Residents' concerns
Lewisham resident Susie Lebasi said people feared that embers from the fire could reach their homes. According to her, heavy smoke particularly covered Dodges Ferry. Another Lewisham resident, Kylie Reardon, said that because of the fire, many people likely slept on alert overnight.
Dodges Ferry resident Steve Lord said he could not see Lewisham because of the thick smoke. Former TFS commissioner Carmel Torenius said embers fell near some homes. The fire was still smouldering on Monday. TFS deputy regional chief John Holloway said the service did not expect any impact on Dodges Ferry other than smoke.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Burn-offs and warnings
A burn-off was registered on private property in the Seven Mile Beach area over the weekend. Some local residents had seen it during the days preceding the fire. At the same time, as of Monday morning, TFS continued to investigate the cause of the fire.
As early as Friday, the service warned of an elevated fire danger due to the weather forecast and strongly advised against continuing registered burn-offs. John Holloway said that on Sunday, reports were received of about 60 fires, a significant proportion of which were linked to burn-offs carried out by people who had not taken weather conditions into account. According to him, formal permits are currently not required for such work, but weather forecasts and warnings must be monitored.
Also on Sunday, two bushfires near Colebrook in the southern part of Tasmania's central region were brought under control.
