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Community Update – 1300 Hrs 2/02/03

Incident Control Centres are operating at Swifts Creek, Orbost and Bairnsdale for the Bogong South Complex

By Gippsland Fire Information - 3rd February 2003 - Back to News

Tune in to the following radio stations for updates on the situation: ABC Gippsland on 100.7FM or 720AM, High Country Radio on 97.3, 3TR on 99.9FM, Cooma 2XL on 92.1FM or ABC Bega on 810AM


The Fires

The portion of the Bogong South complex fire, managed by joint agency Incident Management Teams at Swifts Creek, Orbost and Bairnsdale is now about 380000 hectares, stretching from Dargo in the west to Tubbut in the east.

Spotfires and lightning strikes outside the main fire continue to be a major focus for attack from the ground and the air.

The communities of Brookville, Cassilis, Bindi, Tongio, Suggan Buggan, Wulgulmerang, Gelantipy and Tubbut have been most affected and property protection is priority in these areas.

Spotfires continue to burn in the Dargo River Valley, with the closest to Dargo being 16kms north of the town at Matheson’s Flat.

Fighting the Fires

The priorities remain firefighter safety, asset protection, containment of isolated spotfires and containment of the fire edge.

Backburning and establishment of containment lines will proceed while the weather is favourable.

Statewide resources previously deployed to the North East fires are now starting to be

deployed to Gippsland, to concentrate on asset and community protection and to assist with our firefighting efforts.

The Erickson Skycrane is in Swifts Creek today and will be dealing with some renewed fire activity on Mount Hotham and in the Cassilis area as soon as visibility allows.

Protection works will continue in the Dargo area, with eight bulldozers supporting DSE/DPI and CFA ground crews. Work has commenced to ensure Gippsland’s North/South contingency

Monitoring the Fire

Low cloud has been hampering efforts to determine the extent of the fires currently burning in the northern area of the Snowy River National Park and adjacent private property.

Indications are that the fire has progressed east of the Snowy River and is moving in a south easterly direction.

The Weather

A fine day is predicted today, with winds tending easterly, then northerly. Temperatures are expected to climb to reach the mid 30s by Tuesday, accompanied by stronger northerly winds.

Where to from here?

Community meetings are listed in the Contingency Plans section below.

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, Bemm River Store, Buchan Information Centre, Karoondah Park Staging Area, Gelantipy, Orbost Fishing Store, Newmerella Shell Service Station, Orbost Neighbourhood House, Marlo General Store, Briagolong Hotel and Briagolong General Store, Dargo General Store.

How will it affect you?

School closures:

Primary schools at Bruthen, Buchan, Dargo, Goongerah, Omeo, Tubbut, Clifton Creek, Swifts Creek and Swifts Creek Secondary College (due back tomorrow unless otherwise notified)

Residents in Goongerah, Gelantipy, Butchers Ridge, Murrindal, Tubbut, Deddick, Bonang, Delegate and Bendoc and Cassilis, Tongio, Bindi areas should remain on high alert and be vigilant in patrolling their properties for embers.

Residents in high risk communities are reminded to enact their fire plans now to protect themselves and their properties. Make the decision about whether to leave, or to stay and defend your property in plenty of time.

Communications can be disrupted in fire-affected areas. This means people in more isolated areas may not be able to be individually contacted in the event of a serious outbreak.

Due to the inaccessibility of some areas it may not be possible to get firefighters to help you when you need them. This makes planning ahead all the more important for your safety and that of your livestock and other assets.

Phone trees have been established in a number of communities to assist with disseminating information quickly to people that might be affected by the fires. Phone trees have proved invaluable for those communities who have already experienced the fire close by. See the end of the Update for information about Telstra’s call diversion service for those that lose their phone service during a fire.

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

designated refuge area and for Ensay residents, the Ensay Hall or Bruthen Hall if preferred. For Buchan residents, the Buchan Recreation Reserve is your designated refuge area.

Other Emergency Refuge Centres are: Tubbut Hall, Bonang Hall, Delegate River Tavern, Karoondah Park, Gelantipy.

Bombala High School and Delegate River Primary School are refuge and registration sites for the movement of people in the area.

The Bairnsdale Staging Area is being strengthened and a new staging area is being established at Sale.

If people are going to move livestock, they need to do it well before the fire approaches while the road access is OK. Trying to move your stock after the event will be difficult as roads may be unsafe.

Please take care on roads in areas where the fire has burned through. With many fences down, stock may be wandering on the roadsides, creating a hazard for vehicles. The Gap area between Swifts Creek and Omeo is one place where stock are loose.

Residents are urged to call the Gippsland Community Fire Information line on 1800 668 066 to report stock losses and to get help with the care or humane destruction of injured stock.

DPI Vets and Animal Health Officers are available to assist with these tasks.

DPI and East Gippsland Shire are coordinating burial pits for affected landholders. This is a free service, please call 1800 668 066 for assistance.

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.

Road closures:

  • The Great Alpine Road 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
  • Gelantipy Road, north of Buchan
  • Snowy River Road
  • McKillops Tourist Road
  • Cabandra Road
  • Dellicknora Road
  • Benambra-Limestone Road
  • Lower Dargo Road
  • No public access to Bogong High Plains, Bogong Village, Mount Hotham Village and Falls Creek.

Safety Messages

Stay tuned at home and in your car to local stations (ABC Regional Radio on 100.7 FM or 720 on AM band, 3HCR, High Country

Radio on 97.3, 3TR on 99.9FM, Cooma 2XL on 92.1FM, ABC Bega on 810AM)

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.

Tips for today

Look after your eyes

Our eyes are one of our most precious possessions and eye protection is essential when dealing with fire. A build up of dust, ash or smoke may lead to a range of eye problems such as conjunctivitis or vision impairment.

Firefighters must always carry firefighter goggles, which have a wide visor and are anti-fog for smoke and dust.

If residents don’t have access to this type of equipment, a normal pair of sunglasses with UV resistant filter and impact resistant lens will provide considerable protection.

Interruption to electricity supply may occur during bushfires and should be planned for.

Ensure you have on hand:

  • Portable radio and spare batteries (Remember you can listen to the car radio if necessary)
  • Torch and spare batteries
  • Cordless phones with "remote handsets" require electricity to run and recharge the unit battery. Consider what other communication you have access to: a mobile phone, a CFA listening set etc

How prepared are you?

Plan to survive with a Bushfire Plan

  • Have you sat down with household members and worked out your bushfire survival plan?
  • Does everyone in the family understand the plan?
  • Have you decided if you will go or stay on days of extreme fire danger?
  • If you have decided to go, do you have a plan for where you will go?
  • If you have decided to stay, have you done work around your home, so it can be a refuge?
  • Do you know what you will take if you plan to leave and do you have these thing packed together for easy access?
  • Have you planned what to do with your pets on days of extreme fire danger?
  • If you have decided to stay, do you have a plan for keeping alert to fire conditions in your area?
  • Do you have a set of appropriate clothing handy for everyone in the house in case you have no time to leave safely?
  • Do you know how to protect yourself from the radiant heat of the fire front as it passes through?

You must be able to answer yes to all the above questions if you are in an area likely to be affected by these fires. If in any doubt, call 1800 668 066 for more information.

Looking after pets and livestock:

  • Think about how to protect your pets and include them in your Bushfire Plan.
  • If you decide to leave, plan to take your pets if you can.
  • Organise cat baskets, horse floats, dog collars and leads in plenty of time.
  • If you decide to stay at the house and fight the fire, pets should be sheltered from radiant heat with you as the fire front passes.
  • Identify your pets by putting a phone number and address on a collar tag in case they go missing.
  • On high fire danger days, larger animals such as goats and horses are best placed in a paddock that has been well grazed. Horses should not be locked up in small areas or stables, but moved to an open paddock with little vegetation so they can move freely.
  • Horses are good at moving themselves to safe open areas and suffer minimal burns if left to do so.
  • All equipment including rugs, halters and flyveils should be removed from horses, as the plastic may melt and buckles may burn the animal.

Preventing electricity problems – what can you do?

Already during these fires more than 160 power poles have been destroyed by fire.

In most of these cases the fire took hold at the base of the poles, ignited by grass and

other vegetation at the base of power poles.

Residents are being asked to help retain the power supply in their area by clearing around the base of power poles back to bare earth where possible.

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:

  • Sunday 2 February: Tubbut Hall at 7.30pm
  • Sunday 2 February: Mount Taylor Hall, 7.30pm
  • Monday 3 February: Bemm River Fire Station 2.30pm
  • Monday 3 February: Rotunda Gardens, Bruthen at 4.00pm and at 7.00pm
  • Monday 3 February: Baum Park, Cann River 7.00pm
  • Tuesday 4 February: Genoa Community Hall 2.00pm
  • Tuesday 4 February: Mallacoota Mud Brick Hall, 7.00pm

A community contact line has been set up 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.

The Gippsland Community Fire Information Line is: 1800 668 066

Call 000 or your local fire station to report any new fires.

Family & Personal Counselling support (based in Bairnsdale) can also be accessed through our fire information line, 1800 668 066

TELEPHONE HELP

Telstra Country Wide is offering free call diversion for people affected by the bushfires.

This allows you to receive all calls to your home phone to another phone, either fixed or mobile.

If you have suffered loss of property and no longer have access to your usual phone service, please call 1300 134 239.

Strategies for the longer term

East of the Snowy River, the Yalmy Road is to be prepared as a strategic fire break. Logging contractors will work to prepare the road as a base line from which to backburn and to establish containment lines.

The Department of Primary Industries will work with the CFA, communities and commercial plantation owners in the Tubbut/Deddick Valley areas to develop a plan for the protection of assets and private property.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com



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