Gippsland Portal

Gippsland › Latest news › Department of Primary Industries

Community Update – 1230 hrs 8/02/03

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

By Gippsland Fire Information - 10th February 2003 - Back to News

Tune in to the following radio stations for updates on the situation:
ABC Gippsland on 100.7FM, 106.7FM or 720AM
3HCR on 97.3FM
3TR on 99.9FM
3REGFM on 90.7 or 105.5FM
Cooma 2XL on 92.1FM
ABC Bega on 810AM
Radio NSW on 100.9FM


The Fires

The Bogong South Complex of fires burning in the Gippsland region covers more than 420,000 hectares, stretching from Dargo in the west to Tubbut in the east.

In the Dargo area, fire is burning west from Brookville and it’s expected this will be managed by backburning along the Messmate Spur track.

Heading east, lightning strikes yesterday caused at least two new outbreaks which should be controlled later today.

The biggest movement in the area controlled from Swifts Creek was near Brookville, where several spot fires joined up and began moving towards the town.

Two spot fires occurred at Ensay yesterday afternoon but they have since been contained.

And further east the main focus is on the areas around Deddick and Tubbut. However fires are also burning near the Yalmy Road and east of Gelantipy.

Fighting the Fires

The southern edge of the Bogong Complex extends from the Abbeyard area south of Mount Buffalo right across East Gippsland to Bonang - as the crow flies, a distance of nearly 200km.

After considering community and asset protection works, the current strategy for the management of the fire is to consolidate tracks and firebreaks across the entire southern perimeter.

Backburning will take place from some of those tracks and firebreaks as conditions and resources permit over the next few days.

The aim is to deepen the burnt area off

these tracks and firebreaks before the main head of the fire approaches, this way the fire will have nothing left to burn when it reaches these areas.

Fire crews are trying to make the most of the cooler conditions by consolidating control lines and backburning in strategic locations.

Backburns in the Snowy River National Park are planned to link up with those coming in from New South Wales.

A contingent of American fire experts has joined the team operating out of Dargo. After two days of intensive briefings and acclimatisation, they will begin taking on some leadership roles at the Dargo Incident management Centre from today.

Monitoring the Fire

There are currently three reconnaissance aircraft providing intelligence on fire behaviour and progress.

The Weather

The overall forecast for the Gippsland region is for light southerly winds, possibly reaching 25km/hour by this afternoon.

Similar conditions are expected across Gippsland for the next few days before temperatures rise on Wednesday.

Higher peaks such as Mount Hotham may again experience northerly winds during the day, while winds are expected to turn more northerly again throughout the region tonight.

Today also brings a chance of storms on the ranges.

Where to from here?

Community meetings are listed in the Contingency Plans section below.

If you would like to know where your nearest community noticeboard is, please contact 1800 668 066.

You can also contact our fire information line for help and advice on damage to livestock or fencing, and assistance to begin your post-fire recovery.

Co-ordinating the effort

To support the efforts of the fire fighting crews and the management of the DSE/DPI, CFA and Parks Victoria there are Municipal Emergency Coordination Centres (MECC) running at Bairnsdale and Sale.

The centres have been established to co-ordinate all the agencies and services that assist the effort and to provide direct services to the communities affected by the fires.

Agencies involved include: Red Cross, Department of Human Services, Shire of East Gippsland, Shire of Wellington, Medical Services, Rural Ambulance, CFA, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Department of Primary Industries, Telstra, Regional Health Services, Department of Education, Police, St Johns Ambulance, SES, Salvation Army, Bus Proprietors Association. As conditions change, other agencies are also brought on board to assist.

The level of planning and co-ordination provided through the MECC has ensured that any issues that have been raised by people affected by the fires have been dealt with quickly and effectively.

To access these services or for other assistance, please call 1800 668 066.

How will it affect you?

School closures:

The following schools will resume on Monday February 10:

Swifts Creek Secondary College, Omeo, Bruthen, Clifton Creek, Goongerah Primary Schools. Students from Swifts Creek Primary School and Buchan will resume on Wednesday February 12.

(note the change to Buchan Primary School, resuming on February 12 now, not 17)

The following schools will not resume until at least Monday February 17:

Tubbut and Dargo Primary Schools.

The Alpine School will not have its first intake until at least Monday February 17.

Although some of these schools are due to resume, no buses will be running in these areas and other transport arrangements will need to be made by parents.

For updates on school closures please call 1800 668 066

There is now a manned roadblock north of Buchan, with a permit system for stock and fodder transport to the north of Buchan. People will need to contact the Animal Welfare office on 51 594266 for a permit on the day they want to transport livestock or fodder. Entry will only be allowed if the load and the conditions are suitable. Any loads of fodder must be covered with a tarpaulin to reduce the risk of embers igniting the load.

It is imperative that landholders act on the information provided during DSE/CFA information sessions and make arrangements for their stock well before the fire becomes a problem.

Please be aware that you will not be able to take your stock out or get fodder to them during the danger period and that could last for a number of days once the fire affects your area. Please assist authorities by taking action to protect your stock in plenty of time.

It might be a good idea to talk to neighbours about making arrangements to share fodder in urgent situations where trucks may not be able to get through.

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 Primary School are refuge and registration sites for the movement of people in the area. The Dargo Hall is a registration and refuge area only at times of high risk.

The Bairnsdale Staging Area is being strengthened and a new staging area is being established at Sale. Some resources at the Gelantipy Staging Area are being relocated to Buchan Caves Reserve to better manage the fire as it moves south. There will still be crews at Gelantipy for asset protection.

Parks Victoria has offered to allow local Buchan residents to store small personal items in the Caves. Any items will need to be well sealed to prevent moisture. Contact Stephanie Finn at Buchan Caves. Note: this is for small items only and there is no immediate threat to Buchan.

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 Omeo, Benambra, Suggan Buggan and Wulgulmerang areas in particular are 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 beef and sheep officers will be available to provide free personalised advice to fire-affected farmers. The service will include advice on drought feeding and feed budgeting. Farmers will be helped to make the hard decisions on options for retaining or selling stock. Farmers should phone 1800 668 066 to express interest. They will be contacted by a DPI officer who will determine their needs and arrange a farm visit if required. Printed materials can also be mailed to farmers free of charge.

Centrelink will have representaives in Benambra on Monday to answer questions about what assistance is available to people affected by the fires. They will be at the Control Centre to provide information on:

  • Assistance for farmers
  • Centrelink & other payments available
  • What to do if you have lost your income
  • Social Work Services.

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 between Harrietville and Bruthen. Closed to all except emergency vehicles & local traffic
  • Omeo Highway between Omeo and Mitta Mitta
  • Benambra-Corryong road, between Omeo and Colac Colac
  • Benambra-Limestone Road/Limestone-Black Mountain Road from benambra to Suggan Buggan
  • Bogong High Plains Road between Mount Beauty and Omeo Highway.
  • Dargo High Plains Road between Dargo & Mt Hotham
  • Gelantipy Road, north of Buchan
  • Snowy River Road
  • McKillops Tourist Track
  • Cabanandra Road
  • Dellicknora Road
  • No public access to Bogong High Plains, Bogong Village, Mount Hotham Village and Falls Creek.

Motorists are warned not to drive through roadblocks, even if the fire has passed and it appears to be safe. Smouldering trees could fall across the road well after the fire has been through.

Safety Messages

Stay tuned at home and in your car to local stations (ABC Regional Radio on 100.7 FM, 106.7FM or 720 on AM band, 3HCR on 97.3, 3TR on 99.9FM, 3REGFM on 90.7FM, 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.

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

Timber Mills and Companies should be on high alert in the current fire situation and may not be able to rely on local brigades to protect their assets.

Fine fuel materials such as sawdust and offcuts should be removed from buildings and machinery. These should be stockpiled well away and to the south of the buildings.

Areas where sawdust is not able to be cleared entirely should be wet down prior to fire impact.

Bare earth fire breaks should be prepared around buildings, other assets and log piles.

Sprays should be turned on over log piles prior to fire impact. Every effort should be made to ship milled product from the site. Milled stockpiles should be protected by bare earth breaks and covered with tarpaulins where possible.

call 1800 668 066 for more information.

Looking after livestock:

  • 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.
  • For enquiries about emergency horse accommodation, please call 1800 668 066.

Safety measures for sheep and cattle can be put into place quickly during threat of fire. One of the key factors in minimising risk to stock is to identify the safest areas on the farm. On days of extreme fire risk stock should be moved to lower risk areas. You should also listen to weather forecasts and observe your own environment to help you decide when to put your plan into action.

Safe areas include paddocks with green summer crops or lucerne, bare paddocks with no dry feed, or a ploughed paddock. Firebreaks are imperative. They may be a bare laneway or a ploughed break. Stock can be held in yards with bare or ploughed surrounds. The surrounds can be wetted in advance, however the yards must be well defended as the fire front passes.

LIVESTOCK - AFTER THE FIRES

Help and advice are available for people who have suffered damage to livestock or fencing during the fires. If you need assistance to begin your post-fire recovery, call our information line on: 1800 668 066

A new edition of "Sheep Notes" is now available which makes specific reference to post-fire recovery.

Preventing electricity problems – what can you do?

More than 160 power poles have been destroyed by fire in recent weeks – mostly after taking hold of grass and other vegetation at the base of the poles.

You can help protect the power supply in your 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:

  • Saturday 8 February: Dargo Hall, 3pm
  • Sunday 9 February: Sarsfield Recreation Reserve, 2.30pm
  • Monday 11 February: Lake Tyers Aboriginal Trust, 10.00am
  • Wednesday February 12: Heyfield Memorial Hall, 7.30pm
  • Tuesday 18 February: Stratford Mechanics Institute Hall, 7.30pm
  • Thursday 13 February: Lakes Entrance Mechanics Institute, Mechanic Street at 4pm AND 7:30pm

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


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
© 2001-2025 gippsland.com Print this page | Email a friend this page | Subscribe to Newsletter | Feedback / Inquiries | Login
Edit Page | Edit Site | Uploader | Admin : 1.26 sec