SA Country Fire Service

Media release

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Overnight Fire Update Monday 20th January 2014

20/01/2014

Five fires have continued to burn overnight and have seen a reduction in fire activity enabling crews to continue to strengthen control lines, extinguish hot spot and patrol the fire grounds.

Currently there are no other rural incidents going across the state which has allowed crews to get some much needed rest.

The Bangor fire in the Southern Flinders Ranges is the only incident with a Watch and Act message active, the fire activity has significantly slowed however there are still areas with active flames. People in the area are still being advised to monitor the situation and ensure they continue to have their bushfire action plan activated. The fire has burnt more than 19 000ha and has not significantly changed in size over the last 12 hours.

Eden Valley has seen a dramatic reduction in fire behaviour after the scrub and grass fire which has been burning since last Friday burnt through more than 24 000ha. Ground crews are working on consolidating control lines, mopping up and extinguishing hot spots. Due to the hard work by local and interstate crews the fire has not grown in size over the last 24 hours. 85 Firefighters on 24 appliances are continuing to work on the fire ground overnight with support from three earth moving machines.

The Riverland Complex of fires which started last Tuesday has burnt through more than 63 000ha of mallee scrub and woodlands. This fire has seen a continued reduction in fire activity as crews continue the patrol the fire ground, strengthen control lines and extinguish any hot spots

The Billiatt Conservation Park Fire between Lameroo and Alawoona has burnt through more than 92 000ha of grass, scrub and stubble. Whilst the fire threat has eased people in the area are still being advised to closely monitor the situation for any changes.

The Ngarkat Fire Complex in the Upper South East has burnt more than 71 000ha of grass and scrub land and has had minimal fire behaviour overnight. Crews have continued to patrol the fireground and mop up any hotspots.

Whilst conditions on all fire grounds continue to ease and weather conditions remain favourable the community still needs to remain aware of the fire situation in their areas, take care when driving in the area and ensure their Bushfire Survival Plan remains activated and maintained.

We still have over 330 personnel and five aircraft assisting with these fires from interstate fire agencies, this has boosted our firefighting and incident management capabilities as well as allowing some personnel to get some much needed rest.

In total more than 445 000ha of grass, scrub, forest and bushlands has been burnt since fires started last Tuesday.

For further information please visit the CFS website www.cfs.sa.gov.au or call the CFS Bushfire Information Hotline on 1300 362 361.

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Media information
For media enquiries call the CFS Media Line on 08 8115 3531.

Government of South Australia