Exhausted firefighters in the Central Highlands are facing a new threat in their battle to contain blazes in the Blackdown Tableland and Carnarvon Gorge areas.
The Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday afternoon issued a severe thunderstorm warning for damaging winds, heavy rainfall and large hailstones for south eastern parts of the Central Highlands.
Central Highlands Regional Council mayor, Kerry Hayes, said lightning strikes had the potential to start new bushfires and it wasn’t expected that the forecast storms would put out any of the fires.
He urged anyone seeing a new fire to call 000 immediately, and not assume someone else would report it.
A backburn was being conducted between Mount Moffatt and Sadler Springs to help contain the Carnarvon Gorge fire.
“We’re closely monitoring two fire fronts in Arcadia Valley; one in north Arcadia and another at Green Spur in the south,” he said.
Despite the continued activity, the Central Highlands Local Disaster Management Group has been reduced from stand-up activation to leaning forward.
