Eagle Bay bushfire: Firefighters prepare for 30C day ahead

The Eagle Bay fire has been downgraded to a “watch and act alert”, but firefighters remain at the ready as temperatures are set to hit 30C on Wednesday.

The bushfire, which burnt through 220ha of land, threatened lives and homes in the region and stranded holiday goers and residents in their homes in Eagle and Bunker Bay.

A Department of Fire and Emergency Services spokesperson said the mercury was set to reach 30C in the region, with a wind change expected in the early afternoon.

“Temperatures look like they’re going to peak to about 30C in the afternoon as you’d expect, around 2 or 3pm,” he said.

“Winds are going east to southeast at the moment, and they will swing around to south, southwesterly later in the day. So there will be a change in the winds around 12pm or 1pm.”

DFES said it isn’t alarmed by the predicted wind change as the fire remained contained on Wednesday morning.

“Generally wind changes can sometimes be problematic, because it means it can start pushing the fire in a different direction. They can be problematic, but the bushfire is stationary at the moment — it’s contained but not controlled,” he said

“There is nothing particularly alarming about the 30C day with wind changes.”

More than 150 firefighters, including Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service, Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services, Bush Fire Service, Parks and Wildlife Service firefighters battled the blaze through the night.

Crews were back on the scene on Wednesday morning, working to build containment lines and protect assets.

A large air water tanker brought in to help fight the fire on Tuesday is also expected to return for a second day.

As many as 500 people were evacuated by authorities from the Bunker Bay and Eagle Bay communities on Tuesday afternoon, after they became trapped by road closures in an emergency fire warning zone covering large swathes of the region.

While the cause of the blaze is still unknown, the arson squad will examine the area once it has been made safe by firefighters.