Northern TAS 2

The York Town fire in northern TAS has continued since first noted earlier in the week. Since that time, it has nearly doubled in size to about 2500 ha burnt. The fire is currently contained, after escaping containment lines yesterday. No homes are under threat at this time, although residents should be alert. See the TAS fire service link on the sidebar for the latest info.

This Aqua MODIS image captured the fire around 1620 LT this afternoon (7 Jan). This image is the same region as three days ago, but a slightly wider view. It's also a bit blurry as it is on the edge of the swath, but a quite extensive smoke plume is seen trailing towards the south. The plume extends south past Launceston. This image is a bit later in the day than normally seen, which could account for some of the larger extent as well...

Weather conditions were similar to what was noted a few days ago as well. Not too hot, moderate winds...Again, a good portion of the ferocity of this fire is driven by the likely high fuel load. Tasmania and much of the SE should expect higher temperatures and increased fire danger over the next 3-4 days. Monday looks to be the worst in many areas...This is the same weather system that brought catastrophic fire weather conditions to southwest WA earlier in the week.