The temperature in many parts of Victoria has reached 42 degrees Celsius and the authorities have declared catastrophic fire warning in many parts of the state. In view of this the parks and forests are being closed and visitors are being urged to leave as soon as possible.
“Our direction to the campers in those parks, like the Grampians, Little Desert, Wyperfeld, is leave tonight, and at least leave tomorrow morning and go to a cool and safe place for your family and sit the day out,” Department of Sustainability and Environment chief fire officer Ewan Waller said. He discouraged bushwalking and travelling in the bush. Grampians National Park, Lake Hindmarsh Reserve and the Little Desert National Park are closed till the conditions become favorable.
“We want everyone to understand that you do not wait around for a fire and then get on the road. Being on the road during a fire is the most dangerous place to be. “Said CFA chief officer, Russell Rees.
During the past two months several people have tried to leave their homes even for small bushfire warnings in New South Wales. This could result in destruction of millions of dollars worth of property that might otherwise be defended and saved. In many cases people plan to leave their home at the first threat of fire. This trend was further deepened after the introduction of catastrophic fire danger ratings since last year. According to New South Wales firefighters, an overwhelming majority of people had abandoned their homes even during the low intensity fire.
”Since August, there’s been a very noticeable attitude in communities just to simply leave,” said Rob Rogers, an assistant commissioner with the NSW Rural Fire Service.
”We could end up with quite a high property loss,” he said. And if most residents fled there would be fewer people to douse embers left by the main fire front, increasing the potential for fresh blazes, Mr. Rogers said.
The fire warning system in Australia has changed slightly after the Black Saturday fires with the new fire danger ratings and also with the introduction of the new Emergency Alert, a new telephone based fire warning system that alert people through land phones and mobile phones At this stage people plan to go to the Neighbourhood safer places even though the authorities insist it as a last resort when other means to escape and defend fail. As such the authorities are planning to review the system.
There are total fire bans in many of the districts in South Australia. Residents are now warned by the fire services authorities about the difficulty in predicting a bushfire due to high dust in the atmosphere. Though bushfire may reach any time, an early detection of the arrival of the fire is most important to the people in the area to take steps to leave or defend the fire.
“The dust is being caused by winds shifting eastwards during the day and is making fire spotting difficult. There is no major bushfire activity at present so it’s just dust or dirt in the air, not smoke or ash from a fire. People can be confused by dust and smoke, and this can make identification on major incidents difficult. The dust which is prevalent across the State at present should dissipate later in the day, but the CFS is stressing the need for residents to take particular care in being alert as early detection of bushfires outbreaks is vital,” said Mr. Mark Thomason Co ordinator,Country Fire Services(CFS).
Mr. Thompson requests the residents across the state to be vigilant and alert and to scan the horizon for any tell tale sign of a bushfire.
Similarly telecommunication issues in south east of Australia have also caused broadcasting problems to the media agencies.
The authorities therefore urge the people to simply walk around the houses and to look the horizon for any sign of bushfire to alert themselves or to report to the fire services.