Gippsland Portal

Gippsland › Latest news › Department of Primary Industries

Community Update – 1300 hrs 1/02/03

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 Bogong Complex fires have joined the Pinnabar fire to the northeast and the Mt Buffalo fire to the west. The combined fire has now burned more than 500,000 hectares.

New joint Incident Management Teams have been established at Orbost and Bairnsdale by DSE/DPI and CFA staff to manage the southern and eastern sections of the Bogong Complex fire.

The extreme conditions of the past two days have resulted in numerous spotfires occurring ahead of the main firefront. The communities of Brookville, Cassilis, Bindi, Suggan Buggan, Wulgulmerang, Gelantipy and Tubbut have been most affected by these and by other fires caused by lightning strikes.

Spotfires continue to burn in the Dargo River Valley, with the closest to Dargo being 16kms north of the town.

The main firefront on the eastern sector is from the NSW border near Snowy Track roughly to The Farm east of Wulgulmerang ad Gelantipy.

Fighting the Fires

Firefighters in East Gippsland have been busy assessing fire activity after the flare ups. Spot fires were bombed yesterday and a number have been extinguished.

Priority is still on protecting private property and the cooler, calmer conditions will assist in efforts to backburn, consolidate control lines and get aircraft up for both reconnaissance and bombing activities.

The Erickson Skycrane is tasked today to the Cassilis area when the smoke clears and other aircraft are expected to be able to assist with the attack on the eastern edge of the fire and associated spotfires.

Smoke is building in the Upper Dargo area, particularly near Mount Birregun, where ground reconnaissance work will assess the extent of the fire and assist in targetted deployment of resources to attack the fire here. Spotfires in this area are a priority for air bombing and ground containment lines to protect the town.

Monitoring the Fire

A huge effort has been put into identifying and mapping the location of the fire and associated spotfires after the recent flare up.

A clearer picture should be evident in the next few days, but specific information is understandably difficult to achieve in the more remote areas and in the smoky conditions that prevail.

The Weather

Cool and calm conditions are expected to continue for several days, with the next hot weather not predicted to arrive until Wednesday.

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.

Residents in Gelantipy, Butchers Ridge, Murrindal, Tubbut, Deddick, Bonang, Delegate and Bendoc 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.

It should also be remembered that 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 including Buchan, Gelantipy, Tubbut, Goongerah, Club Terrace, Cann Valley, Delegate River and Wangrabelle. Phone trees are set up by communities to assist with disseminating information quickly. A key person volunteers to be at the base of the tree to receive and pass on vital messages to the community. This is a two way process, with information coming back to CFA and DPI staff, providing important feedback about their situations. Phone trees have proved invaluable for those communities who have already experienced the fire close by.

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

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.

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

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

Protecting your building from radiant heat

Intense radiant heat very close to a window may cause the glass to crack. (eg, a burning shrub right outside the window).

To protect vulnerable windows:

  • Use metal flywire on the outside of the window glass. Metal flywire absorbs 70% of radiant heat.
  • New or old sheets of roofing iron covering the glass. Doesn’t look good but it works.
  • Cover other openings, such as skylights, with metal flywire or metal sheets that are well secured/attached.

To help reduce ember entry:

  • Metal flywire: cut, folded and placed into brick vents.
  • Flywire or other solid covering (eg roofing iron) for open "underfloor" spaces
  • Cover open chimneys with metal flywire, folded to fit and secured.
  • Timber verandahs can be wetted down with a sprinkler. This also dampens the leaves and other fine fuels etc you can’t get to with a rake.

Write yourself a note to remember to remove the gutter plugs at the end of this fire situation!

Ensure garden hoses are connected, ready for use. Remember if you need to shelter inside (if it gets too hot outside), take the hose AND the plastic or metal connectors with you. You may also be able to connect a garden hose to the washing machine taps in the laundry.

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.

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: 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.


Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com



Edit this news article




Related Articles

Let Emma add your News

Baw Baw Bass Coast Cardinia East Gippsland Latrobe City South Gippsland Wellington
© 2001-2026 gippsland.com Print this page | Email a friend this page | Subscribe to Newsletter | Feedback / Inquiries | Login
Edit Page | Edit Site | Uploader | Admin : 1.36 sec