Australia: More than 100 SA schools to close in catastrophic fire conditions

Oceania/ Australia/ 19.11.2019/ Fuente: www.abc.net.au.

South Australia’s Department for Education has announced 111 schools and kindergartens will be closed tomorrow as a safety measure during catastrophic fire danger conditions.

The closures include 65 sites in the Mount Lofty Ranges.

Seven regions in South Australia have been given catastrophic fire danger ratings for Wednesday by the Bureau of Meteorology, including Kangaroo Island.

No part of the state has been rated lower than «severe».

A total fire ban applies across the whole state for the rest of today and Wednesday.

The Country Fire Service (CFS) has compared tomorrow’s bushfire risk conditions to those that were present during the Pinery and Bangor fires.

Record-breaking temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius are forecast for some parts of the state, along with winds of up to 60 kilometres per hour.

Catastrophic conditions have been forecast for the eastern and lower Eyre Peninsula, the Yorke Peninsula, the west coast, the Mid North, the Mount Lofty Ranges, along with Kangaroo Island.

Department for Education infrastructure executive director Ross Treadwell said «high-risk schools» would not open tomorrow and bus services would be cancelled.

«It enables parents and the people in those districts to enact their bushfire plans,» he said.

A large air tanker from New South Wales is on standby to fly to South Australia if a fire does break out.

CFS assistant chief officer Brenton Eden said if winds were too strong tomorrow there was a chance no aircraft would be able to be deployed.

«The community has a general expectation that aircraft and everything in the air are able to respond rapidly and save them from these fire events [but] on days like this those aircraft may not get off the ground,» Mr Eden said.

Residents prepare for dangerous conditions

Many Adelaide Hills residents spent Tuesday preparing their properties, clearing long grass and putting their survival plan in place.

Crafers resident John Angel said the community needed to be «overcautious».

«The [Adelaide Hills] Council came along and quickly mowed this with [a] tractor leaving lots of spare spots, but sometimes those bare spots if an ember comes on it is enough to start this up,» he said.

«I’ve got a free morning so I just thought I’d come and do what I can.

«I think if everyone is out doing their bit, I know the council are and the CFS are — all you can do is just be as prepared as you can.»

More than 500 Adelaide Hills properties were last week warned to clean up their properties ahead of the bushfire danger season, which started last Friday in the area east of Adelaide.

No fines have yet been issued.

«We’re always concerned when residents don’t clean up their properties appropriately, however, we also recognise that people have busy lives and reminders and notices that we provide them just helps them re-prioritise bushfire safety,» Adelaide Hills Council chief executive officer Andrew Aitken said.

«I think the majority of our residents and businesses are well prepared.

«Obviously, it’s an ongoing exercise to remain vigilant.»

Mr Aitken said some council services and businesses would be closed on Wednesday.

He said the council would not make its employees work if they needed to defend their property in the event of a fire or if it was too risky to come to work, and he encouraged other local businesses to do the same.

«We already know what staff are planning to do leading up to a catastrophic fire day,» he said.

«We certainly encourage, as does the CFS, all property owners whether they be residents or businesses to have their bushfire survival plan in place and it’s never too late to do that.

«If your bushfire plan says to leave, leave early.»

Record temperatures set to be broken

Bureau of Meteorology acting SA supervising meteorologist Paul Lainio said November temperature records could be broken.

«The whole day effectively for the state will be hot, dry and fairly windy at times,» he said.

The record November temperature for Adelaide’s West Terrace weather station is 42.7C, set in 1962.

Innamincka and Oodnadatta in the state’s far north are set to reach 43C, while Tarcoola will reach 45C.

Innamincka resident Ali Matthews said her family was preparing for the heat.

«We’ve got two little kids, so it’s hard to keep them inside all day, every day,» she said.

«Obviously, when it’s 40-plus or 50-plus it’s not very pleasant, so lots of waterplay for the kids and we’re in the air-conditioning as much as possible.

«There’s not a lot of work you can get done in those sorts of temperatures.»

Source of the notice: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-11-19/sa-schools-to-close-amid-catastrophic-fire-conditions/11718984