People who have been trapped in Coles Bay overnight after a bushfire closed the only road in and out of the town are starting to be escorted out, the Tasmania Fire Service say.
TFS District Officer Claudio Muench said some rain fell in the area overnight, ‘significantly improving’ fire conditions.
“We had six crews overnight doing structural protection detection … We’ve had no reports of any structures lost. No people have been injured at this point in time,” Muench said on ABC Radio.
“We’ve started to escort people in and out of Coles Bay under controlled conditions.”
Muench said it was “very likely” the fire will be contained today.
“Winds are evading, so we have crews which are starting to move in as we speak to actively continue firefighting.”
“The fire has quietened down significantly overnight.”
TFS Acting Regional Chief Greg Butters estimated around 600 hectares of land had burnt overnight.
“We’re doing mapping with our aircraft this morning to get a more accurate picture, but we believe based on reports late yesterday afternoon and overnight that the areas burned are around 600 hectares,” Butters said.
“This morning we’ll be doing some impact assessments first thing to determine exactly what amount of damage has occurred.”
Butters said fire investigations will also be undertaken into the cause of the blaze ‘as a priority’.
The bushfire remains under a ‘watch and act, seek shelter now’ advisory for people around Coles Bay Road and Friendly Beaches.
People near the Tasman Highway at Apslawn and Bicheno are asked to continue to monitor conditions
