Queenstown residents are waking up to an uncontrolled vegetation fire burning to the south of the small West Coast town this morning.
The alert-level blaze on Peters Street began shortly after 1am on Wednesday and has placed nearby residents under a ‘Watch and Act’ warning.
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As a result of the fire, authorities have closed the local Mountain Heights School and St Joseph’s Catholic School for the day.
“Due to a vegetation fire currently underway in town and following advice from emergency services, school will be closed today to ensure the safety of students and staff,” Mountain Heights said.
“Please do not attempt to travel to the school. Please ensure you continue to monitor the situation in the community.”
Tasmania Police had earlier reported Tasmania Fire Service personnel would be evacuating residents from Brooklyn Street, but later deemed this action “not necessary”.
“No person has been injured due to the fire,” a police update at 4:30am read.
The Tasmania Fire Service said the fire is “expected to be difficult to control”.
Crews from Queenstown, Zeehan, Rosebery and Strahan are all attending and “are undertaking protection of assets”.
“This fire is expected to impact Colville Street, Brooklyn Street and South Queenstown within two hours,” an alert reads.
“The fire is travelling towards South Queenstown. Embers, smoke and ash may fall on Colville Street, Brooklyn Street and South Queenstown. Conditions are expected to be changeable.”
Paragon Theatre co-owner Joy Chappell said she got a “bit of a shock” when authorities knocked on her door early this morning.
She has opened the doors of the local theatre as a place for people affected by the fires to go.
“We’ve got the urn on, we’ve got tea and coffee, we’ve got comfy couches and plenty of space,” she told 7XS. “So if anyone needs to evacuate and doesn’t know where to go, come on over.”
Chappell praised the efforts of local firefighters keeping the town safe.
“We’ve seen them in action here in town before, so we know they go to the nth degree to get these fires out for us,” she said.
