A 36-year-old woman was will face court after police arrested her for lighting a fire in Whittaker Street, Alice Springs, last night.
Regional Counter Disaster Controller Acting Commander Michael White said the woman was the second person in two days to be arrested for lighting fires.
“A 25-year-old man was arrested in Imanpa on Tuesday and he too will face the courts.
“With the extraordinary amount of bushfires in the area over the past month or so, it is astounding that people are still deliberately lighting fires, especially when they could face up to 15 years jail,” A/Commander White said.
Fires which threatened the Desert Park and two town camps in Alice Springs yesterday have been brought under control.
“Fire fighters worked throughout the day and night containing the fire which reached the top of West Gap last night and threatened the communications towers there. It’s a credit to their hard work that no property or persons were injured and the fires have been contained.”
Overnight, additional crews were sent to the Kings Canyon area to help contain the large blazes in the area.
“Yesterday, we closed the Luritja Road and the Ernest Giles road due to significant fires burning in the area. Additional resources have been sent into the area to help contain the blaze, however, fires continue to burn and motorists are being urged to avoid the area.
“This morning we have also closed the access road through Boggy Hole between Ernest Giles Road and Larapinta Drive. This includes the access track to Ellery Creek and Tempe Downs area.
“We cannot overstate the importance of staying off these roads as we have already had a couple of close calls involving tourists ignoring the warnings.
“Last night our fire crews found a Wicked van abandoned near the intersection of the Luritja Road and Ernest Giles Road. Obviously this led to a concern for the welfare of the occupants and we were obliged to direct scarce resources to finding the people. They had in fact been transported to Kings Canyon resort by another motorist after their vehicle broke down.
“Once again we urge all members of the public to avoid travel on these remote roads while the fires continue to burn until further notice.”
