An emergency declaration has been issued for the entire Barkly local government area as a large bushfire burning in the region is expected to move closer to the town of Tennant Creek from Wednesday.
Key points:
- A bushfire has been raging in the Barkly region since last week
- A wind change is expected to push it towards Tennant Creek in the next 24 to 48 hours
- No evacuations are expected
The fire, which has been burning for about a week, came within 60 kilometres of the town on Monday morning.
Tennant Creek remains under a watch and act level alert, and authorities have warned a change in wind direction forecast for Wednesday will likely push the fire west towards the town.
NT Acting Chief Minister Nicole Manison on Tuesday said the next 24 to 48 hours would be "critical".
However, she said authorities had been working hard to mitigate the potential impacts of the fire, and no evacuations were planned at this stage.
"There has been a huge amount of planning and preparation," she said.
"The message to the people of Tennant Creek is: Be prepared, but stay calm.
"It is business as usual today and tomorrow."
However, Ms Manison said any unnecessary travel in the region in the next 48 hours should be postponed.
NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said the emergency declaration would provide police with additional powers to direct people to and from areas and take control of assets.
"Basically, [it's] primarily for the protection of life," he said.
He said extra resources had been deployed to the region from across the territory, as well as South Australia.
South Australia's Emergency Services Minister Joe Szakacs said a team of 20 SA Country Fire Service (CFS) staff and volunteers would travel to Tennant Creek on Wednesday.
"In addition to the firefighters, the CFS is also deploying a SA Ambulance Service (SAAS) Special Operations Paramedic as a component of their deployment cache, to manage firefighter welfare and any immediate medical needs on the fire line," Mr Szakacs said in a statement.
Australian Defence Force personnel have also been deployed to help with mitigation strategies.
'There has been some anxiety'
Tennant Creek resident Lynda Turner said locals were anxious about the fire.
"In the last couple of days we've realise how dramatic it is," she said.
"We were all panicking then and planning what we were going to pack to be evacuated.
"It's unprecedented for a lot of us."
Another resident expressed concern about "old people and babies" with asthma, due to the thick smoke which has covered the town.
Ms Manison advised residents with respiratory problems to remain inside over the coming days.
NT Member for Barkly Steve Edgington said people from across the community, including local pastoralists and business owners, had been volunteering their time to the fire mitigation effort.
"What we're seeing is all the local people pulling together to try to keep this fire under control," he said.
He said another fire south-east of Tennant Creek, which forced residents of a nearby town camp to evacuate on Sunday, had been alarming for residents.
"That fire itself brought some concern to residents that in fact that larger fire may in fact be closer than what people have been anticipating," Mr Edgington said.
"There has been some anxiety around that over the last couple of days."
Emergency declaration called for Barkly local government area as bushfire heads towards Tennant Creek - ABC News
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