Very high fire danger this long weeked

THE Tasmania Fire Service has encouraged Tasmanians to be responsible with fire this Australia Day long weekend.

"Thousands of Tasmanians will flock to campgrounds and shacks for the long weekend," TFS chief officer Chris Arnol said. "The hot weather means fires that start will be hard for us to control. We would like people to avoid using fire at all this weekend wherever possible," Mr Arnol said.

"Very High fire danger means we will be declaring a Total Fire Ban in the south of the state on Sunday. While a Total Fire Ban has not been declared for Friday or Saturday, we ask that people consider alternatives to fire for cooking and warmth.

"A Total Fire Ban means no fires can be lit in the open air. At midnight on Saturday night all fires, including campfires, must be completely extinguished. We will not be issuing fire permits in the south until further notice.

"We encourage people to report fires as soon as they see them by calling Triple Zero (000) to allow us the best chance to control the fire early."

The Parks and Wildlife Service has banned the lighting or use of campfires, fire pots or other device that burns coal, wood, plant material or any other solid fuel in National Parks and reserves until the middle of March.

"Holidaymakers are encouraged to listen to ABC local radio and keep an eye on the TFS Facebook page as the advice may change over the weekend depending on the weather predictions," Mr Arnol said.

The Tasmania Fire Service, Parks and Wildlife Service and Sustainable Timber Tasmania are at a heightened state of readiness, with strategically placed strike teams and aircraft, incident management teams and extra firefighting resources on standby for this weekend in order to attack fires quickly.

For more information about Total Fire Bans visit www.fire.tas.gov.au and listen to ABC Local Radio in the event of an emergency.