MAPS line the walls, available troops are listed on a whiteboard and the Tasmania Fire Service website is projected on the big screen as its Northern headquarters are transformed into a war room against the extreme fire weather predicted for today.
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The Youngtown offices will serve as the region's incident management centre today, deploying resources for and getting a strategic overview of fires burning from Deloraine to Swansea.
The fire danger is expected to climb to severe in some areas of the North and extreme on the East Coast, where a large bushfire is already burning out of control.
``The things that make fires difficult to control is a combination of low humidity, higher temperatures, strong winds and dry ground, and we've got them coming together for us nicely,'' district officer Stephen Lowe said.
``The purpose of this centre is so that the people on the ground can focus on the fire that they have got.''
Staff from Forestry Tasmania and Parks and Wildlife will join police and firefighters in the centre, to co-ordinate resources and form a complete picture of the fires burning in the region. Planners at the centre can predict a fire's spread based on wind patterns and the topography of the area, and list what properties or assets could be in its path.
Mr Lowe said the aim of the centre was to proactively deploy resources to potential trouble spots, and prevent bushfires from spiralling out of control.