Hot weather returns but risk moderate

TASMANIA will see a return to warmer weather tomorrow but the fire risk will fall far short of that seen two weeks ago, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

The mercury is expected to reach 31 degrees in the fire-prone Derwent Valley and the East Coast.

But fire weather forecaster Matthew Michael said a high relative humidity and moderate wind speeds meant the fire risk would be "not even close" to that seen at the start of the Tasmanian bushfires.

Mr Michael said the Fire Danger Index rating tomorrow appeared unlikely to climb above 30 - the bottom of the "very high" fire danger range.

When fires destroyed more than 200 homes near Dunalley on Friday, January 4, the index topped 100 and pushed into the "catastrophic" range.

Tasmania Fire Service acting station officer of state operations Paul Symington warned residents not to become complacent.

"If the winds were to pick up, there's every chance that the fires could escape," he said.

Mr Symington said the 24,000-hectare Forcett fire that devastated the Tasman Peninsula was still burning uncontrolled and crews were working to strengthen containment lines.

A back-burning operation on the western side of Pirates Bay Road yesterday sent smoke over Eaglehawk Neck.

Mr Symington said firefighters were blacking-out the edges of a fire at Interlaken Road near Steppes in the Central Highlands, which is within containment lines, and Tasmanian and New Zealand remote area teams had been sent to extinguish hot spots in the Lake Repulse fire.

Northern firefighters are patrolling fires at Holwell, on the West Tamar, and Curries River, near Bridport. Both fires have been controlled for some days.

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