It has been an absolutely shocking few weeks for bushfires in central Australia and things seem to be going from bad to worse.
Three massive blazes in the area have now broken containment lines on their western flanks and westerly winds are fanning the flames.
Bushfires NT director Steve Sutton says a fire at Yambah Station, about 100 kilometres north of Alice Springs, is being pushed towards Napperby Station on the Tanami Road. Another fire on Angas Downs, near the Luritja Road, has broken away and is reportedly heading towards Kings Canyon.
Mr Sutton told the ABC that the fire of greatest concern is burning on three fronts, south and east of Alice Springs, and is threatening several homesteads.
“(It is moving) towards Maryvale and Deep Well, the stations in that area,” he said. “We worked overnight, with some assistance from volunteers and staff from Alice Springs, to try to put in place some containment lines during the cool of the night … they weren’t entirely successful.”
Mr Sutton told the ABC the fire started more than a week ago in the Simpson Desert and has burnt on three fronts across hundreds of kilometres.
The two fronts on the edge of the Simpson Desert are approaching Nummery and Indiana stations but there are a limited number of people available to defend the area.
There is slightly better news in the Sunshine State where the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) says weather conditions across the state have improved and all bushfires are now under control.
Blazes are burning within containment lines in the state’s far north, central region, the Wide Bay-Burnett, and south-west.
It goes without saying that grey nomads and others should remain alert to fire risks at this time of the year, no matter where they are travelling.
