Tasmanian firefighters have called for reinforcements from interstate as multiple bushfires burn across the state.
Most of the fires are on the West Coast, while a blaze in the Snug area, south of Hobart, has been contained and is being closely monitored.
Deputy Chief Officer Matt Lowe said dry lightning strikes on Monday afternoon and evening sparked the West Coast fires.
“We’re currently using all the 15 aircraft we have through the National Aerial Firefighting Centre arrangements and we have further local aircraft on standby ready to act should any new fires start,” he said.
“We have also this morning requested two Blackhawk helicopters from interstate to help with our efforts.”
He said the challenging terrain and inaccessibility of many locations on the West Coast made aerial firefighting critical.
Out of the 18 bushfires burning across Tasmania, 17 are in the remote Zeehan, Corinna and Rosebery areas.
“There is no threat to communities at the moment, but containing these is our priority,” Lowe said.
“While more lightning occurred last night, fortunately this was accompanied by rain and at this stage we haven’t had any reports of new fire starts.”
The Tasmania Fire Service is urging residents to stay alert and keep an eye on local conditions.
