Message from Incident Controller - Shoalhaven LGA incorp. Lake George LGA. Hi all, Well its day three of the s44 declaration. Last Wednesday a fire was detected in remote country approx. 36kms WSW of Ulladulla in the area of Wirritin Ridge, hence the fire name of “Wirritin”. This fire started from a lightning strike. Due the inaccessibility of the area, the predicted significant fire weather and the likelihood of the fire developing into an ongoing campaign similar to the Dingo Creek s44 of a few years ago, a s44 was declared and a multi agency Incident Management Team established. Thursday Oct 17 saw fire the predicted weather not only eventuate, but worsen. We will not doubt remember for a long time the devastating fires which ripped through the areas of the Blue Mountains and Wingecarribee. My thoughts (as I am sure are everyone’s) are with all those individuals involved and affected by these events and our colleagues who battled them. Locally we had a few fires start of our own. A grass/scrub fire in the Quinns Lane/Browns Rd area of South Nowra caused significant concern and saw an emergency warning issued for the area. The fire was started in the vicinity of a rubbish pile at the rear of a factory complex. Fire Investigations are continuing. This fire was rapidly attended to by both FRNSW and RFS crews and quickly brought under control and contained. Only an old shed and a dumped car were damaged. Later in the evening another fire was suspiciously lit in the Vicinity of Hancock Creek in the Wandandian area. The fire was noticed very soon after ignition on the side of a dirt road. This fire, and a subsequent smaller fire close by later in the evening are being treated as arson and investigated accordingly. We have a few leads on this and are requesting that anyone with any information contact Crime Stoppers. Information can be given in confidence. Again, quick response from numerous RFS appliances contained this fire with both direct attack and backburning operations continuing into the early morning. Crews continue to patrol this fire. During the day, RFS responded to a number of other reported incidents which were either dealt with immediately or false alarms. Meanwhile the Wirritin fire continued to burn with no attendance of ground troops or aviation, (due to the terrain due to the extreme wind conditions) Remarkably, the fire didn’t expand anywhere near as far as predicted. Friday and Saturday have seen aviation attack on the fire, with direct attack (bucketing) and the insertion of aerial incendiary to bring the fire out to identified control lines. It needs to be noted that these control lines are natural features (namely wet gully systems) so no ground resources have been able to assist. Sat afternoon will see a marked increase in aviation activity on the fire with 4 fixed wing bombers added to the 5 helicopters working. These bombers will be constructing retardant lines across ridges to the North and South of the fire in an effort to stop the fire from progressing in those directions. This will see the setting up of “Pricilla” the mobile retardant plant at HMAS Albatross, a definite first for the base and the Shoalhaven District. This base is being strategically located due to not only the Wirritin fire, but also for its ability to effectively service the neighbouring Districts of Illawarra and Far South Coast should this be required. HMAS Albatross will also provide manpower to set up the base. This fantastic support and ongoing working relationship we share with HMAS is simply next to none. Due to the Wirritin fire only being able to be attacked by air, and that no other incidents are occurring (outside normal operational activity), the Incident Management Team is closing and reverting to normal duty officer after 2000hrs. Obviously, this can be changed should circumstances warrant. It is highly likely that the Wirritin fire will continue to be an issue for the immediate future. Weather predictions were highlighting a possibility of some moisture from Monday afternoon onwards. Given recent history, I am certainly not going to rely on this being anything more than a passing shower. As a result of both the existing and potential fire activity, I have suspended all Fire Permits until further notice. Lastly, but most importantly, a huge thanks to all of you have been involved both within the District or with assistance to our neighbours, either on the Fireground, in the air or in the IMT. You are all part of the big picture and part of a great team. Regards Mark
Posted on: Sat, 19 Oct 2013 05:50:19 +0000
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