Central TAS

Widespread fire activity across TAS this evening, although no real threat to 'property' is present at this time. Two fires which have burnt in excess of 3000 ha (each) remain uncontolled according to the Tasmania Fire Service.

The true-colour MODIS image captures the view from the Aqua satellite around 1500 LT on 2 February. The two large fires noted above a clearly visible, producing widespread thick smoke plumes. A smaller plume is also visible in a break on the cloud edge.

The southern-most region of smoke is from the Wayatinah fire, which was first reporteon 31 Jan 2010. It has burnt 3400 ha to date. The northern plume is from a fire near Lake Mackintosh. This fire is believed to have started in mid-January from a lightning strike. It has burnt 3000 ha to date. More genertally around TAS, particularly off the west coast is smoke from previous days fire activity.

Weatherwise, conditions haven;t been too outrageous. Temperatures over the last few days in the upper-20s and low-30s. But the winds have remained moderate and RH is not too low. After and wet winter and spring, rainfall in the state has remained below normal. Things are drying out and fire season is coming into full swing in the state. Conditions in the area are forecast to be similar for the next day or two, so the threat will remain.