Lachlan bushfire status downgraded

Local fire brigade vehicles at the
Jefferys Track fire.

THE status of the bushfire at Jefferys Track, Lachlan, was downgraded last night after the effective use of water-bombing aircraft during the day.

A Tasmania Fire Service spokesman said the bushfire that started late on Friday night had since been contained to an area of 20 hectares. Now one of six bushfires in the state's south burning at "no alert" level, the area will be patrolled by the TFS over the coming days. There may be visible smoke and fire activity within the burnt area for some time.

Four fires have been identified in the South-West following lightning strikes on Saturday morning. At 1pm today a spotter plane flew over the area to look for any further outbreaks.

There are two fires in the Twelve Trees Range area near Strathgordon. Maydena Fire Brigade volunteers reported one of the fires, which is now largely extinguished and will be monitored. The other fire, known as Pearce Basin East, is the main focus of firefighting activities with helicopter water-bombing assisting remote-area ground crews.

There are two fires north of Lake Gordon, one in the Prince of Wales Range and the other on Innes High Rocky. Parks and Wildlife Service Remote Area teams are working on an active north-western edge on Innes High Rocky. The Prince of Wales Range fire is not actively spreading and is being monitored.

Bushwalkers planning to walk in the south-west and west of Tasmania need to be vigilant for fires and smoke from yesterday's lightning strikes. Lightning fires can lay dormant in the ground for several days prior to detection. PWS and TFS are continuing to monitor for new fires and work to extinguish known fires.