Northern Territory and South Australian fire crews are fighting a bushfire in the Barkly region that is up to four times the size of the ACT, while authorities have been going door-to-door in parts of Tennant Creek, warning there is a chance the fire could spread to the town amid extreme fire conditions.
Deputy chief fire officer Josh Fischer told the ABC on Monday afternoon winds were gusting up to 50km/h, with large fuel loads causing “intense fire behaviour” meaning it could travel “50 kilometres in one night”, and was only 60km from Tennant Creek
He said flames were as high as 15 metres and that the fire broke containment lines Sunday night, with conditions making it difficult for firefighters and landowners to back-burn.
“We’ve got high winds again this morning … so we do expect, based on what we’ve witnessed to date, that that fire does have the high potential to continue to spread,” he told the ABC.
Bushfires NT incident controller David Adam told reporters Monday morning the Gosse River, as well as some containment lines, had the potential to stall the fire if it did change direction and travel east toward Tennant Creek.
He said “significant gusts” predicted from Wednesday could increase the fire risk but he said that as of Monday afternoon the fire appeared to be moving in a north-westerly direction.
“If containments are not achieved by Wednesday, there’s a potential for some significant impact on the Stuart Hwy in Tennant Creek,” he said.
“That’s the focus of the whole of government at the moment.
“If it keeps going on the current trajectory, it will most likely impact the bulk of the highway again, but well to the east of Tennant Creek.
“It is the wind change [we’re worried about]”.
Mr Fischer said that as of Sunday evening NT Police officers had door-knocked residents on the southern and eastern sides of Tennant Creek to give them an early warning about the potential for the fire to affect them.
Bushfires NT chief fire controller Tony Fuller said on Sunday the massive Barkly region fire, which started about a week ago east of Tennant Creek, and about 500km north of Alice Springs, had burnt thousands of kilometres.
He said the blaze was at one time about 9,300 square kilometres in size, and while the fire posed no risk to residential properties then, several cattle stations continued to be under threat north of the Barkly Hwy.
“The blaze was roughly three to four times the size of the ACT, sitting between Epenerra and the Barkly Highway,” Mr Fuller said.
“We’ve had large [fires] in the past, but this is the largest one I’ve had to deal with… station workers have been working really hard for the last few days. They’ve managed to put some control lines in, which we hope will stop it moving into their property further.”
He said said two helicopters and three single-engine air tractors for interstate, which can carry up to 3,000 litres of water, have been used on a smaller fire that broke out at Rusty Camp, in Peko Rd, near Tenant Creek and burnt about 100ha.
NT Cattlemen’s Association chief executive officer Will Evan told Mix 104.9 on Monday morning attempts by cattlemen and women to get ahead of the fire had been problematic but he was not aware of any livestock being killed.
“Being able to back-burn is proving to be really problematic,” he said.
“It’s managed to jump containment lines that we have been able to put in front of it. So it is a very serious situation.
“It is very difficult to get a handle on [the situation with cattle], we are doing everything we can.
“Many people would be aware that pastorals are a key part of fighting these fires. And we are really doing everything we can to move livestock out of the way but this is a big fire and it is fast moving. It’s very challenging.
“And this is a challenge we are going to have for the next six to 12 months. So we have lost an awful of feed after having a good wet season last year.
“So it is not just the threat to livestock today it is also the threat to livestock in terms of not having food for them in the future. It is one that is going to take a couple of months to get to the bottom of but a very challenging situation for everyone involved.”
Bushfires NT said extreme fire weather was forecast for the entire week and that smoke will continue to make road visibility poor.
The Barkly Hwy, between the Barkly Homestead and Threeways Roadhouse, has been closed and re-opened in intervals depending on the latest conditions that have changed quickly and authorities have advised motorists to delay any travel in the area until conditions clear.
Several trucks continue to be stalled at the Threeways Roadhouse and Barkly Roadhouse on either side of the highway while making arrangements with nearby stations for cattle to be unloaded, fed and watered while the road remains closed.
“Animals can only stay on a truck for a certain period without being spelled (temporarily unloaded for food, water and rest). So there was a lot of reorganising and utilising facilities to take off animals on an interim basis,” NT Road Transport Association chief executive Louise Bilato said.
The NT Emergency Management Council has been meeting to assess the highly volatile situation.
“There are fires all over the territory at the moment, so it’s just a case of organising mitigation and having fire breaks made,” Barkly Regional Council Mayor Jeffrey McLaughlin said, urging residents to remain calm and monitor for updates.
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