Vic: Fire crews take advantage of calmer weather

AAP General News (Australia)
12-12-2006
Vic: Fire crews take advantage of calmer weather

MELBOURNE, Dec 12 AAP - Fire fighters used the cooler and calmer weather conditions
last night to work on building containment lines around blazes across Victoria.

Fifteen fires are continuing to burn out of control, blackening 250,000 hectares mainly
in the state's north-east and Gippsland areas.

Department of Sustainability and Environment state duty officer Dennis Ward said the
fires were still active but they had been quiet overnight.

The weather had cooled and on the higher peaks of the alpine country, the temperature
had plunged into the negatives.

"That's good for us for overnight," he said. "That will actually enable, providing
the conditions are right, to undertake backburning operations and work on control lines."

Mr Ward said residents in all fire areas were still urged to be vigilant, despite the relief.

The biggest fire is the North East fire, stretching from Whitfield to Cheshunt, Mt
Buffalo and south into the alps, which has burnt 120,000 hectares.

Urgent-threat messages were issued for the area of Waterford in north-east Victoria,
where residents were expected to experience ember attack and resulting spot fires.

The main fire front was within 12 km of Dargo.

Massive fronts in the north-east and Gippsland continued to burn, with residents in
Waterford and the Cobbanah areas issued warnings.

Those in the Tawonga area, near Mt Beauty, and around Mansfield were also issued urgent-threat
messages.

Residents in those areas were being urged to prepare their fire survival plans.

There were also three new outbreaks yesterday.

Fires at Club Terrace near Orbost and one in Bendoc, in east Gippsland, were both expected
to be contained late this morning.

Another new outbreak at the Cann River had been contained.

Yesterday bushfires claimed the iconic Craig's Hut -- made famous by The Man From Snowy
River -- in Victoria's high country, near Mansfield.

Four homes have been lost in the bushfires, two on Sunday in the north-east and south-west,
and two last week in the north-east.

Twenty-eight schools remain closed due to the bushfires, including Mount Beauty Primary
School, Mount Beauty Secondary College, Tawonga Primary School and Tambo Upper Primary
School.

AAP mi/rs

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES VIC DAYLEAD

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