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Australia fires live: NSW and Victoria bushfires threaten horrendous day of fire danger - live Australia fires live: NSW and Victoria bushfires threaten horrendous day of fire danger - live
(32 minutes later)
New South Wales and Victorian fire chiefs warn Saturday’s conditions may be the worst of the entire bushfire season, as thousands flee threatened townsNew South Wales and Victorian fire chiefs warn Saturday’s conditions may be the worst of the entire bushfire season, as thousands flee threatened towns
Victorian emergency services minister Lisa Neville says the second person in Victoria who was confirmed to have died yesterday has now been identified.
His name is Fred Becker.
“I want to pass on my condolences and the condolences of the Government to family, to the community of Genoa, who will be suffering as a result of this on top of the trauma they have faced in relation to fair fires,” she says.
Graham Ashton says there are now 21 people missing in the state as a result of fires. The figure quoted yesterday was 28, so this appears to be good news.
However, Ashton notes that the figure may shift again. “We’re trying to get into communities to again not withstanding the fire activity, get into communities and look for those people and satisfy ourselves that the people are OK and safe and well,” he says.
Victoria police commissioner Graham Ashton says thousands have evacuated from the leave zone.
About 60-70% of people spoken to by police said they were leaving. Fewer people leaving in East Gippsland, though that’s because many have already left.
“Traffic flows have been heavy,” he said. “Again, motorists have been behaving very responsibly on the roads out through the heavy traffic flows, which has been of great assistance.
“So it’s really heartening to see people that have been heeding warnings and behaving so patiently on our roads as they’ve been making their way out.”
Crisp returns to evacuations. He puts it in these terms:
Crisp thanks the thousands of people who have evacuated from six local government areas across the state since Thursday.
He warns that in the Alpine area there is the potential again for the “pyro-cumulus columns to develop, and develop their own weather, so they can throw out their own lightning”.
“We still have those dynamic and dangerous conditions, the low humidity, the strong winds, and what underpins that, the state is tinder dry,” he adds.
“It is really, really dry at the moment.”
Crisp says there was some significant fire behaviour last night, particularly in the Alpine area.
“We have seen wind gusts up to 67km/h already today, up at Mount Hotham,” he says.
“It’s predicted when the change comes through we will see gusts up to80 km/h. The change has come through for the west of the state, moved through Melbourne, it’s moving now into East Sale at 10am.
“We won’t see that change until about 1pm, up at Wangaratta, and 4pm at Albury and not until 7-8pm will it be at Falls Creek out of the north-east.”
Victorian emergency services commissioner Andrew Crisp notes there is a watch and act in place in the Glenelg area, near Portland. That’s in the state’s west. A number of people were evacuated from a camping area there.
He is making the point that although much of the focus has been in the state’s east and north-east, there is the potential for fire anywhere in the state.
A press briefing is about to begin with emergency services officials at Victoria’s state control centre. We’ll bring that to you shortly.
We’ve made it to the town of Adaminaby, about an hour or so north of Jindabyne and right in the centre of the Snowy Mountains leave zone.We’ve made it to the town of Adaminaby, about an hour or so north of Jindabyne and right in the centre of the Snowy Mountains leave zone.
It seems like most people here have heeded the Rural Fire Service’s warning to leave. All the shops here are closed and the streets are dead quiet.It seems like most people here have heeded the Rural Fire Service’s warning to leave. All the shops here are closed and the streets are dead quiet.
The wind that RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons warned about earlier this morning is starting to pick up now, and burnt leaves are falling from the sky around us.The wind that RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons warned about earlier this morning is starting to pick up now, and burnt leaves are falling from the sky around us.
About 450 emergency services staff are being housed at a massive tent city in East Gippsland that has been open since 18 December.About 450 emergency services staff are being housed at a massive tent city in East Gippsland that has been open since 18 December.
The base camp at Swan Reach, in between Bairnsdale and Lakes entrance, on the Tambo River.The base camp at Swan Reach, in between Bairnsdale and Lakes entrance, on the Tambo River.
The CFA said it has sourced almost all services, produce, and equipment from local businesses, which have also suffered an economic cost from the ongoing bushfire crisis.The CFA said it has sourced almost all services, produce, and equipment from local businesses, which have also suffered an economic cost from the ongoing bushfire crisis.
“More than 5000 litres of fuel is being used each day at the camp, refuelling fire trucks and vehicles, and ensuring generators keep powering the site,” the CFA said in a press release.“More than 5000 litres of fuel is being used each day at the camp, refuelling fire trucks and vehicles, and ensuring generators keep powering the site,” the CFA said in a press release.
“Crews are also consuming 1200 bread rolls, 140 kilograms of fruit, and 60 kilograms of sandwich meat per day.“Crews are also consuming 1200 bread rolls, 140 kilograms of fruit, and 60 kilograms of sandwich meat per day.
Hygiene has also been taken into consideration, with 30 toilets being emptied twice a day, and more than 50 industrial loads of washing being done to ensure staff have clean bedding.”Hygiene has also been taken into consideration, with 30 toilets being emptied twice a day, and more than 50 industrial loads of washing being done to ensure staff have clean bedding.”
Jingellic is in NSW, just on the border with Victoria, and north of Corryong. It’s threatened by the massive, 127,000-ha, Green Valley fire.Jingellic is in NSW, just on the border with Victoria, and north of Corryong. It’s threatened by the massive, 127,000-ha, Green Valley fire.
NSW emergency services minister David Elliott is asked if he wants to elaborate on his Facebook post saying his absence inexcusable.
He doesn’t.
Elliott says he has received a briefing and will be supporting the premier and the commissioner throughout the day.
He intends to visit fire lines over the coming days, however he will be unavailable due to a funeral on Monday.
A reporter asks if he intends to stay in the role.
“I came back to step up, not step down,” he replies.
And that’s the end of the media briefing.
Fitzsimmons is asked about a proposal put to the federal government for a funding boost to the National Aerial Firefighting Centre.
He confirms that the federal government is yet to back the proposal – and says that fire authorities need more funding certainty.
“We have had a business case in with the Commonwealth to increase that funding which will be matched by the stats and territories,” he says. “We haven’t seen a positive response to that business case.”
That business case has been with the federal government for 18 months. But he adds:
And Fitzsimmons says that the RFS went to the NSW government and was able to buy its own dedicated air tanker after arrangements were established with the northern hemisphere. NSW is the only state that has been able to do that, he says, and it is able to share its assets with other states.
“We have national coordination arrangements. They work very well, but what we need is certainty around the funding going forward so we can secure better economies of scale and certainty around what we’ve got here and how we’re sharing it going into the future,” he says.
You can read more about the funding proposal in this story by the Age. It is the same proposal that past fire chiefs like Greg Mullins have criticised the government for failing to adopt.
I mentioned to you earlier that the NSW emergency services minister David Elliott is back in the state. He’s been under fire for going on holiday during the crisis.
A reporter asks Berejiklian where Elliott is today. She says he is here at the briefing.
The reporter asks Elliott if he wants to say where he will be for the day.
Berejiklian answers for him. “He will be here.”
Are you glad to have him back?
“Of course,” the premier says.
That map shows the potential for ember attack and, on that point, Fitzsimmons says: “We have experienced in NSW, this season, 12 to 15km fires starting ahead of the main fire front taking hold easily and spreading very, very quickly in advance of the main fire front and they tend to catch up with each other and consume what’s in their path.”
The map we showed you earlier predicted the fire spread. That is the worst case scenario, Fitzsimmons says.
However, he notes that that usually, authorities have a “likely” and a “worst case” scenario.
“Generally speaking over the last five years or so, the most likely generally correlates with what actually happens on the ground.
“What we saw on New Year’s Eve, a lot of the fires were working to the worst case scenario. So a lot of the shaded areas that you’re seeing today around the predictive tools and the modelling that’s derived that product is defaulting to what we’re calling the worst case scenario based on our experience from New Year’s Eve.”
Fitzsimmons is asked about fires just outside the Greater Sydney area. He says of the Green Wattle Creek fire, which is in a national park to the west of the city.
“We have got a prediction on that, that it spreads under the westerlies or particularly under the swing in the wind from around west, north-west through the southerly,” he says.
“There is potential for the fire to break out, cross the dam and move into the western suburbs of Sydney. That fire is burning. It has the potential to come out into more populated areas this afternoon.
“That’s one of our focus fires, of course, but I would say a broader is message be alert, be focused on any new fires today. If you see a new fire today, please report it on 000.”
However, we know there are people have decided to stay. Fitzsimmons says many people have left the vulnerable community of Batlow, west of Canberra.
But about 40 people have stayed, he says, according to the last figure he’s seen.
“They are in the town centre and if Batlow gets impacted, they will be in the town centre with the local fire brigades,” he says.
Those on the coast will head to the beach or to evacuation centres, he says.
Fitzsimmons is asked for the key message on evacuating. He says:
Fitzsimmons: “It will be a long and difficult day for everybody.”
NSW RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons says the concern is that new fires will start under the hot, dry and windy conditions. More than 100 are already burning in NSW.
“We will see westerly winds, northerly winds turning westerly winds throughout the morning and throughout most of the day, before we see a fairly volatile southerly change moving up the coast sometime late this afternoon and getting to places like Sydney, not until late tonight,” he says.
Temperatures will climb into the high 30s and early 40s about 11am. A southerly change will set in later in the afternoon.
“But whatever the case, we’re going to have a long day dominated by hot temperatures, dry atmosphere and winds coming out of the ranges. We are talking 40, 50, gusting to 70km/h from the north-west and the southerly change that’s coming through.”