March 14, 2008 07:41am
Nine firefighters were injured and a house was destroyed yesterday in the fire near the historic town of Willunga, 47km south of Adelaide.
More than 200 firefighters worked around the clock to bring the 100-plus hectare blaze within control lines, but authorities warned it would continue to burn for some time as the region faced a prolonged heatwave.
Emergency services were also ramping up air cover with additional waterbombing aircraft being moved into strategic positions around the Eyre Peninsula, Mount Lofty Ranges and lower south-east, Country Fire Service (CFS) spokeswoman Kate Husband said.
"We have fresh crews starting this morning when they will take over from firefighters that have worked through the night at Willunga," Ms Husband said.
"This is a very tense situation for the CFS and for the community with the prolonged drought and heatwave conditions.
"Today will also be one of the hottest days in terms of the fire danger right around the state.
"We're imploring residents in all areas to be extremely careful and to adhere to the regulations of the total fire bans across the state, especially with respect to those who might work with high-risk machinery like angle grinders, or people lighting campfires, that kind of thing."
The fire started about 3.30pm (CDT) yesterday on the edge of the winegrowing region of McLaren Vale.
The Department of Environment and Heritage (DEH) took the extraordinary step of closing all parks in the Mount Lofty Ranges and the Fleurieu Peninsula because of the extreme fire risk and ongoing heatwave.
Residents around Willunga are being warned to activate bushfire plans and note there are roadblocks in place.
"This is not going to settle down in one day. We've got quite a few days of these conditions still ahead," Ms Husband said.
