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Community Update – 1130 hrs Tuesday January 28 2003

Latest news from the Gippsland Incident Coordination Centre at Traralgon

By Gippsland Fire Information - 28th January 2003 - Back to News

The Fires

The north east section of the Bogong Complex fire has now joined the Pinnabar fire. The fire now stretches from about 10kms south west of Hotham to the NSW border, covering nearly 350000 hectares.

A milder couple of days has slowed the movement of the fire, but there is concern about the area to the south west of Hotham and Dinner Plain.

There have been outbreaks at Splitters Range, east of Omeo, The Brothers and Mount Leinster, east of Benambra.

Fighting the Fires

The milder conditions have enabled crews to concentrate on more backburning for asset protection in affected areas and to establish containment lines around the numerous spotfires that emerged after the intense conditions on Sunday.

The priority today is to strengthen the backburns on the southern side of Hotham and Dinner Plain. A team of New Zealand firefighters is assisting here.

Omeo residents are warned to expect more smoke and flames to the north of the town as the backburns are underway.

Tidying up on the edges of the fire continues while the weather remains cool, as well as work on the spotovers to the east of Benambra.

Helicopters are currently being used for reconnaissance. Aircraft will be used to support backburning operations east of Benambra and south of Mount Hotham, when the weather improves at higher elevations.

Monitoring the Fire

The milder weather has meant that some air reconnaissance can be done to check the fire status and ground crews are also better able to track the situation.

The Weather

The calmer weather conditions are expected to persist today, but tomorrow is predicted to be another hot and windy day, causing intense fire behaviour.

Where to from here?

Community meetings are planned for the following:

Tuesday 28 Jan: Briagolong Recreation Reserve, 7.00pm

Wednesday 29 January: Fernbank Hall, 7.00pm

Thursday 30 January: Goongerah hall, 11.00am

Thursday 30 January: Orbost Football Ground, 4.00pm

Friday 31 January: Old School Club Terrace, 10.00am

Friday 31 January: Newmerella Recreation Reserve, 7.00pm

Meetings held so far have proved very successful in assisting residents to learn more about the fire situation, how it may affect them and how to prepare.

Community noticeboards are displaying information at: Omeo Hall, Omeo Fire Station, Omeo Staging Area, Benambra Fire Station, Blue Duck Hotel, Swifts Creek General Store, Ensay Store, Ensay Little River Inn, Cassilis Winery.

How will it affect you?

As the firefront passes, communities are left with the mopping up operations and assessing any damage. There have been significant stock injuries and losses after Sunday’s fire. Residents are urged to call the Gippsland Community Fire Information line on 1800 668 066 to report their losses and to get help with the care or humane destruction of injured stock. DPI Vets and Animal Health Officers will be available to assist with these tasks.

Donated hay is planned to be available this evening to meet immediate needs. This will be delivered to the Omeo Staging Area (football oval).

For residents in the Omeo and Benambra areas, the Omeo Oval is your designated refuge area. For residents in the Swifts Creek and Cassilis, the Swifts Creek Secondary College is your designated refuge area and for Ensay residents, the Ensay Hall.

If you leave your home or town you are requested to inform the Australian Red Cross staff at your local refuge area, who are keeping track of all movements during the fires for safety reasons

If you have already registered but you then change your plans it is important to inform the Red Cross. Also, if you leave your vehicle at a staging area they should be informed.

There is colour and odour in the water supply in Omeo. East Gipppsland Water advises that it has been tested and is safe to drink. There will be an improvement in the water today.

Road closures: 

• The Omeo Highway north of Bruthen is closed to all vehicles except emergency vehicles and local traffic.\
• Omeo Highway between Omeo and Mitta Mitta
• Great Alpine Road north of Omeo
• Benambra-Corryong road, between Omeo and Corryong
• Benambra Road between Uplands and Colac Colac
• Benambra-Suggan Buggan Road (Limestone-Black Mountain Road)
• Bogong High Plains Road between Falls Creek and Omeo Highway. 
• Dargo High Plains Road between Dargo & Mt Hotham 
• No public access to Bogong High Plains, Bogong Village, Mount Hotham Village and Falls Creek.

Safety Messages

Residents in affected areas are warned to be alert, enact their bushfire plans and to keep close watch for fire threat in their area.

Be on the lookout for falling embers and take all measures to extinguish them as soon as they land.

Tune your car and house radio to local stations (ABC Regional Radio on 100.7 FM or 720 on AM band, 3HCR, High Country Radio on 97.3 and 3TR on 99.9FM) and keep listening for fire location information, spread of fires and weather conditions to monitor your local situation so you have an up to date snapshot of what is happening.

If there is a fire in your area have a bag of protective clothing set aside in case you need to be outside to defend your home.

Appropriate clothing would include natural fibre long sleeved shirt and pants, sturdy boots, wide-brimmed hats and gloves (no thongs, singlets or rubber-soled shoes).

Keep drinking lots of water even if you aren’t thirsty.

CFA encourage families to think about what they would do if a fire threatens their home so they can make an informed choice about staying and actively defending their property or leave early.

Leaving early should occur before 10 am on a high risk fire day or in a fire situation. Leaving when you see the flames is too late. If you choose to stay ensure all family members know your plan and what to do.

Everyone should be dressed in protective clothing including solid footwear, long sleeves and pants in natural fibre material and wide brimmed hat and gloves.

Close all windows and doors and use wet towels to block gaps between doors and floors. Hose down gardens and the house. Block downpipes and fill gutters with water. Fill buckets and have a ladder ready to look in the manhole and to remove embers from high places. You should shelter inside from the radiant heat while the fire front passes.

Once you are able to get outside, patrol the perimeter of your house and put out spot fires and burning embers. Ensure you return inside and into the roof to check for fires.

Keep cool, stay safe.

Contingency plans

Staff from the Department of Primary Industries and the CFA are endeavouring to ensure that communities most likely to be affected by the fires in the region are kept well informed and up to date with the situation as it develops.

This section of the Community Update is directed at those communities to help prepare them for the possibility of fire threat.

Community meetings will be held at the following places over the coming week:

Tuesday 28 January: Briagolong Recreation Reserve, 7.00pm

Wednesday 29 January: Fernbank Hall, 7.00pm

Thursday 30 January: Goongerah Hall, 11.00am

Thursday 30 January: Orbost Football Ground, 4.00pm

Thursday 30 January: Nungurner Hall, 7.00pm

Friday 31 January: Old School, Club Terrace, 10.00am

Friday 31 January: Newmerella Recreation Reserve, 7.00pm

Work has commenced on the preparation of control and containment lines south of the Bogong complex fire, with DSE/DPI and the CFA working closely with communities on this.

Contingency lines from Powelltown to Mallacoota are being upgraded and maintained by Gippsland Region DPI/DSE. The contingency lines are generally forest roads and tracks close to the private land and public land interface. Should existing fires or any new fires threaten private assets, under favourable conditions these lines may offer an opportunity to backburn.

The CFA is also liaising with landholders with properties adjoining public land with a view to consolidating firebreaks in the grassland.

A new Gippsland Community Fire Information Unit has been established at the Traralgon DPI office for the Gippsland region, jointly managed by CFA and DPI staff and the Police. A community contact line has been set up here for anyone affected by the fires to obtain information relevant to their situation.

This number will give you information on every aspect of the fire situation in Gippsland, your bushfire preparation and planning and further contacts that you might need. It is also to report stock losses and get help to treat injured stock.

Please note: this number is for information only, not for reporting fires. Call 000 or your local fire station to report any new fires.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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