Tasmania’s iconic Overland Track remains on track to reopen Monday, though officials have warned another delay is possible due to fire conditions.
The track has been closed since February 5 following the Canning Peak bushfire and is currently undergoing rapid damage assessments.
“At present, we remain confident and hopeful that the track will be able to reopen as scheduled,” Park and Wildlife’s Brendon Clark said.
“From an infrastructure perspective, we are confident that we will have a safe and traversable track available for the public to traverse as of Monday.”
“However, with the fire weather conditions that we’re likely to experience over the weekend, we still remain fearful that that may impact the reopening as scheduled.”
Clark said any changes to the reopening schedule would be announced as soon as possible.
The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting warm and windy conditions over the weekend, with temperatures in the low 30s expected on Saturday and strong winds persisting into Sunday.
Senior meteorologist Simon Lewis said while some rain is possible, it is unlikely to significantly impact the ongoing West Coast fires.
State Fire Commander Matt Lowe reported the area affected by bushfires remains stable at approximately 94,000 hectares, with no significant increase in fire activity.
“Today we have 148 firefighters accompanied by 18 aircraft and 8 bulldozers on scene, actively firefighting in the areas that we see might have potential for fires to outbreak” he said.
“As we lead into this fire weather tomorrow and Sunday, we’ll have stand-up strike teams in the Midlands and additional aircraft at strategic locations across the state.”
