Extreme weather conditions on Friday may prevent Tasmania Fire Service from utilising aerial support to battle blazes in the state’s southwest, but contingency plans are in place.
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TFS regional chief Jeff Harper said firefighters started preparing at-risk areas and communities on Thursday.
“The aerial support may be up and down at certain times tomorrow, what we are planning for is that they’re not there, particularly in the afternoon,” he said.
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“Tasmania Fire Service and our partners are continuing with our strategies of pre-deploying resources into high-risk areas and preparing so we can hit any new starts early with enough weight of attack to contain them and hopefully not have them run throughout the day.”
The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting temperatures on Friday will peak at mid to high 20s across most of the state, with inland areas in the south reaching low 30s.
Mr Harper said the weather will peak from 5am Friday, with the driest air expected at that time.
The bureau is warning strong and gusty northwesterly winds combined with the hot temperatures will create very high to severe fire danger across the central, eastern and southern parts of the state.