Overland track to re open Wednesday
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-01/t ... es/7131438 Print Email Facebook Twitter More
Tasmanian fires: Crews expected to gain upper hand with favourable conditions forecast
By Ted O'Conner
Posted 34 minutes ago
Tasmanian firefighter douses flames in the state's north-west.
PHOTO: Tasmanian firefighter douses flames in the state's north-west. (ABC News)
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MAP: TAS
Tasmanian firefighters expect to make considerable progress on more than 50 blazes burning out of control in the state's west and north, with favourable conditions forecast for the coming week.
Tasmania Fire Service acting deputy chief officer Jeremy Smith said today was extremely productive with clearer skies enabling more remote area specialists to be flown into the fire ground.
"We've also been able to dispatch our intelligence aircraft to determine where these fire perimeters are, where these hot spots are and actively insert the remote area specialists into these high-risk, high-value areas," he said.
The bulk of the resources continue to be focused on blazes in the Lake Mackenzie area and at Lake Gordon in the south-west.
He said the forecast was fortunate for firefighters, given late summer was usually a challenging time.
"We believe we've got seven to 10 days of really good firefighting in the next period," the deputy chief officer said.
"So this will allow us to get a really good, solid edge around a number of these fires and really identify where a number of these fires are."
The Fire Service has also updated its estimate of how much Wilderness World Heritage area has been burnt to almost 2 per cent.
Overland Track to reopen on Wednesday
The world renowned Overland Track will be reopened on Wednesday morning, after authorities decided blazes in the area no longer posed a threat.
The trek through the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, receives about 8,000 visitors a year.
Overland Track
PHOTO: The Overland Track was closed to hikers because of the fire threat. (ABC News: Stephen Smiley)
Tasmania Parks and Wildlife general manager Peter Mooney said fires still burning in the area had not damaged the track itself.
"We've done a risk assessment of the current fires and it is now at a very low risk," he said.
"We'll be briefing walkers when they leave, because there may still be smoke in the region as they walk along the Overland Track."
Hikers who were booked for the Overland Track have instead been given the option of doing the Three Capes Track in the south east of the state.
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