FIRIES GAIN UPPER HAND ON FIRES NEAR CANBERRA

Easing conditions but more work ahead


Article heading image for FIRIES GAIN UPPER HAND ON FIRES NEAR CANBERRA

By Renee Bogatko

The cool weather change overnight has helped firefighters contain that grass fire out at Sutton.

Crews from the ACT & NSW Rural Fire Service will remain on scene today to patrol, mop up, and keep an eye on any new or existing or hot spots.

“Several properties came under threat but the fire was contained overnight and we expect conditions to ease today, and that will be patrolled throughout the day,” RFS Spokesperson, Matt Reeves, said.

“We had some patchy rain last night which has helped our members bring the fire under control.”

At the height of the fire, the RFS had around 20 fire trucks working on it, to help avoid a catastrophe.

“There’s unconfirmed reports of some property damage, primarily shared building and vehicles. However, we’ll have some building impact teams out in that area today and they’ll be able to confirm whether those were a result of this fire,” Mr Reeves said.

“Under these conditions it’s not likely to pose a threat to people or property, but we still encourage people in the area to keep abreast of what’s going on.”

You can do that by checking out the RFS website.

The Sutton fire has burned about 523 hectares.

The blaze out near Tarago has burned about six times that, and hasn’t been contained yet.

Crews have worked hard overnight to strengthen containment lines.

“There was some patchy rainfall across the fireground, but once again today, we’ll see crews out there patrolling and working with heavy machinery to strengthen containment lines and we’re hoping to have that fire contained today,” Mr Reeves said.

This fire has also been downgraded to Advice level, with locals there also being encouraged to keep up to date via the RFS website.

A house on a rural property near Bungendore was destroyed, with the owner and workers on the property escaping just before the building went up.

Property owners have also had to clean up dead livestock, with some losing dozens of sheep.

“The fires are a timely reminder, as we’ve seen how quickly these grass fires can move, if people don’t have a bushfire survival plan, they should sit down with their family and put one together,” Mr Reeves said.

You can download a guide here.

18 January 2017




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