Emergency crews continue to fight fires on various fronts in and around Alice Springs today as hot and windy conditions continue in Central Australia.

Regional Counter-Disaster Controller Michael White said police were using helicopters this afternoon to survey the fires from the air in the Kings Canyon  region.

“The roads around  Kings Canyon have been closed since yesterday afternoon while fire-fighters have been trying to contain a number of large fires in the area. Whilst this has caused significant disruption to tourist operators and the motoring public in general, we are determined to ensure no-one is put at risk while conditions remain so volatile.

“Additional resources are arriving in Alice Springs today from Darwin as well as a number of fire-fighters and equipment from South Australia. These resources will be deployed to assist with the fires near Kings Canyon.

“Meanwhile, we are using a helicopter with a police spotter to fly over the area today to get a better idea of the extent of the fire front.”

A/Commander White said he was hopeful  significant inroads could be made to containing the fires in the next few days as weather conditions eased.

“The forecast for tomorrow is an easing of  wind speeds and temperatures. Today’s temperatures are still in the high 30s with strong winds gusting at up to 40 k/ph while tomorrow we expect temperatures of up to 27 degrees with wind speed of between 25 and 30 k/ph.

 “In the meantime we continue to urge motorists  to avoid travel on these remote roads while the fires continue to burn until further notice.”

Media Contact
Theresa Kuilboer
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