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Canberra fires live updates: capital of Australia faces renewed bushfire threat – latest news
Canberra fires live updates: capital of Australia faces renewed bushfire threat – latest news
(32 minutes later)
Huge fires to the south smother the city with smoke as Scott Morrison prepares to address the National Press Club. Follow all the latest updates
Huge fires to the south smother the city with smoke as Scott Morrison prepares to address the National Press Club. Follow all the latest updates
It’s not just the ACT that will see dangerous fire conditions increase as we get closer to the weekend. In the coming days temperatures are expected to exceed 40C in Adelaide, Canberra and Melbourne, while some places such as Cummins in South Australia, Echuca in northern Victoria and Griffith in inland NSW are expected to reach 45C.BOM meteorologist Diana Eadie told AAP on Wednesday that a hot air mass causing scorching temperatures across large parts of Western Australia will move across the country along with an increase in humidity. “As a result we’re expecting severe to extreme heatwave conditions to develop across much of the southeast of Australia,” she said.Eadie said many areas will experience uncomfortable overnight temperatures including Adelaide where it will not drop below 28C on Friday.“That’s why we’re seeing those severe to extreme heatwave conditions because when you don’t get those temperatures dropping off overnight, it doesn’t allow the body to recover.”Eadie said the heatwave will bring elevated fire dangers, peaking on Thursday in South Australia, Friday in Victoria and Tasmania, and Saturday in fire-affected areas including the ACT and southern parts of NSW.“Whilst we’ll see those warm temperatures and strengthening winds, it’s not as dry as what we’ve seen with previous events which is why at this stage we’re only forecasting severe fire dangers,” she said.“It’s not quite as dangerous as previous situations just because we do have that moisture over fire-affected areas.”
I’ll leave Morrison there because he moves on to emissions reductions and then, of course, questions about the controversial sports grants program overseen by Bridget McKenzie.
Morrison:
Morrison points to the use of Australian defence force reservists as evidence the government has responded to the crisis, but says before the next bushfire season he will look at legislative changes including giving the commonwealth the power to declare a national state of emergency.
He also flags changes to the “legal interface” between the commonwealth and states and territories on responsibilities when it comes to preparing for and responding to natural disasters and emergencies on a national scale.
Morrison also flags “an enhancement of a national accountability framework for natural disaster risk management, resilience and preparedness”.
“This should include the setting of targeting and transparent reporting on key actions with enhanced national standards where necessary,” he says.
“We’ve got to be comparing apples with apples.”
He says that before the events of this summer the role of the commonwealth in responding to natural disasters “has been limited to responding to requests for assistance for state governments”.
“The scale of the bushfires this season, not least their simultaneous reach across many borders, has demonstrated to me the limits of these arrangements,” he says.
Morrison says the events of this summer have “reminded us that our national security is also about our preparedness, responsiveness and resilience to the natural disasters and the environment we will live in – today, over the next decade, and well beyond”.
Morrison says that “amidst this devastation” it has been “humbling to see Australia as its best”.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, begins his National Press Club address by acknowledging the families who have lost loved ones throughout the bushfire season.
It’s not just the ACT that will see dangerous fire conditions increase as we get closer to the weekend. In the coming days temperatures are expected to exceed 40C in Adelaide, Canberra and Melbourne, while some places, such as Cummins in South Australia, Echuca in northern Victoria and Griffith in inland NSW, are expected to reach 45C.BOM meteorologist Diana Eadie told AAP on Wednesday that a hot air mass causing scorching temperatures across large parts of Western Australia will move across the country along with an increase in humidity. “As a result we’re expecting severe to extreme heatwave conditions to develop across much of the south-east of Australia,” she said.Eadie said many areas would experience uncomfortable overnight temperatures, including Adelaide where it would not drop below 28C on Friday.“That’s why we’re seeing those severe to extreme heatwave conditions because when you don’t get those temperatures dropping off overnight, it doesn’t allow the body to recover.”Eadie said the heatwave would bring elevated fire dangers, peaking on Thursday in South Australia, Friday in Victoria and Tasmania, and Saturday in fire-affected areas including the ACT and southern parts of NSW.“Whilst we’ll see those warm temperatures and strengthening winds, it’s not as dry as what we’ve seen with previous events, which is why at this stage we’re only forecasting severe fire dangers,” she said.“It’s not quite as dangerous as previous situations ... because we do have that moisture over fire-affected areas.”
Some Australians are ignoring potentially life saving emergency alerts during disasters because they fear they are being scammed, says Queensland University of Technology associate professor Amisha Mehta.
Some Australians are ignoring potentially life saving emergency alerts during disasters because they fear they are being scammed, says Queensland University of Technology associate professor Amisha Mehta.
Mehta has told AAP that emergency alerts with a link to a website are often mistaken as a scam or computer virus by younger and older people.
Mehta has told AAP that emergency alerts with a link to a website are often mistaken as a scam or computer virus by younger and older people.
It is the latest challenge facing emergency authorities during times of natural disasters, Mehta says.
It is the latest challenge facing emergency authorities during times of natural disasters, Mehta says.
Remember when the ACT was hit by a vicious hailstorm... last week.
Remember when the ACT was hit by a vicious hailstorm... last week.
I’ve just spoken to Abrar Shabren, a forecaster from the Bureau of Meteorology, who has given me a rundown on the weather fire crews in the ACT will face in the coming days.
While the temperature will rise quite steeply as this afternoon goes on, with a forecast high of 36C, quite benign easterly and south-easterly winds are expected to keep things in check.
However, conditions are expected to begin deteriorating from tomorrow until Sunday. Temperatures are expected to rise to 39C on Thursday before hitting 42C on Friday and Saturday, driven by increasing westerly winds.
“Around midmorning to midday on Friday the winds will start becoming north-westerly and that’s when that hot surge comes in,” he sais.
“In the beginning those winds will be light, between 10 and 15km/h then 15 to 20km/h, so not the strong winds we’ve seen in previous weeks with those high pressure systems bringing in quite strong winds.
“But on Saturday we will see that wind increasing on the fire grounds, so dry, hot and strong winds probably about 30, 40 and 50km/h. In the elevated areas and high peaks the wind gusts will be a bit stronger than that.
“That will drop off in the evening on Saturday and then through to Sunday winds become easterly and quite light.”
Looks like the bulk of Scott Morrison’s press conference will be about the unfolding coronavirus but he begins by calling the fires in Canberra “a reminder again that we’re a long way from the end of this bushfire season”.
The Orroral Valley fire in the ACT has now burnt through 10,079 hectares.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, is about to give a press conference in Canberra. I’ll let you know if he touches on plans to expand the powers of the commonwealth to respond to national emergencies, which is expected to be a key focus of his National Press Club address today.
Moving briefly to South Australia, AAP reports that authorities are bracing for a day of severe fire danger with special work to be conducted on the Kangaroo Island fire ground.Earthmoving equipment, water tankers and extra fire crews are being sent to strategic locations ahead of a day of high bushfire risk.
The blaze is officially contained but the Country Fire Service says crews are still finding hotspots in various areas including Blue Gum Hills, Cygnet River and Vivonne Bay.
The bushfire risk on Thursday is expected to be severe with a total fire ban to be put in place as temperatures soar.
Adelaide is forecast to have a top of 42C with the mercury going even higher in some regional centres.
The fire has already burned through more 210,000ha and destroyed more than 50 homes along with hundreds of other buildings, crops, livestock, wildlife and infrastructure including many kilometres of fencing.
It also claimed two lives. Father and son Dick and Clayton Lang were killed when their car became engulfed in flames.
From Tuesday night. A lot of ACT residents are comparing this fire to the devastating 2003 blaze.
Just a reminder of where we’re at. On Monday, a defence helicopter landed in the Namadgi national park, south of Canberra, and accidentally sparked what authorities have called the city’s “most serious” bushfire threat since the city’s devastating 2003 fires.
Tuesday saw dramatic images of the fire approaching Canberra’s southern suburbs, but conditions eased throughout the evening and the fire was downgraded from emergency level to watch and act just before midnight.
The fire remains active though and is travelling in a north-east and easterly direction towards the communities of Mount Tennant, Tharwa Village, Boboyan Road and Top Naas Road.
The ACT Emergency Services Agency says residents in those areas need to “remain vigilant”. If you do not need to be in the area, “it is still best for your safety to not enter or return”.
Residents in the southern Canberra suburbs of Banks, Gordon, Conder, Calwell and Theodore should also continue to monitor conditions.
While milder conditions today are helping fire authorities the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting extremely high temperatures and low humidity that will prove challenging.
Temperatures today are still tipped to reach 36C though before rising to 39C on Thursday. On Friday the mercury will increase to at top 42C.
It will be 42C again on Saturday, before showers and possible storm pass through on Sunday, with a top temperature of 35C.
As Luke has written, fire crews are making the most of today’s milder conditions before the expected temperature rise tomorrow and on Saturday.
Today ACT emergency service personnel, police and defence force members are door knocking in the southern Canberra suburbs of Banks, Gordon and Conder.
It’s not an evacuation – no evacuation warnings have been issued for those suburbs – but the ACT Emergency Services Agency says they’ll be there to “answer any questions and to help ensure residents have a bushfire survival plan”.
That’s all from me for now. My colleague Michael McGowan will be taking over for a while. And a reminder that Scott Morrison will be addressing the National Press Club this afternoon.
The ABC has reported some comments from the ACT Emergency Services Agency’s incident controller, Matthew Shonk, who says authorities do not expect the fire to return to emergency level today.
But Shonk says the fire is not going to be put out today or tomorrow and that conditions will worsen in coming days.
“We can’t sugarcoat that in any way,” he said.
“The conditions that we saw yesterday could well pop up again.
“There’s challenging times coming up; we’re not going to get this fire out today and not tomorrow. This is a campaign fire and we’ll be working for some time.”
The fire is about 8km south of Banks, the most southern suburb in Canberra. Fire crews are hoping to make the most of today’s milder conditions.
