1
00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,800
Speaker 1: Now we know that a number of campgrounds at Litchfield

2
00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:06,400
Speaker 1: National Park are expected to reopen today after a large

3
00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:10,479
Speaker 1: bushfire tour through the area last week. Bushfires NT and

4
00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,720
Speaker 1: Parks and Wildlife work together from the ground and air

5
00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,480
Speaker 1: to control the bushfire, which is believed to have been

6
00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:20,960
Speaker 1: deliberately lit. Top End Parks District Manager Andrew Turner joins

7
00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:23,160
Speaker 1: me on the line right now for an update. Good

8
00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:24,400
Speaker 1: morning to you, Andrew.

9
00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:26,640
Speaker 2: Okay, Katie, how I am you?

10
00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:29,080
Speaker 1: Yeah? Really good? Thank you so much for your time

11
00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:33,680
Speaker 1: this morning. Now tell me, Andrew, will those camping areas

12
00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:34,640
Speaker 1: reopen today?

13
00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:39,960
Speaker 2: Yeah? Absolutely, In fact they have done as half an

14
00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:44,800
Speaker 2: hour ago. Really pleased to say that. The three campgrounds

15
00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:48,920
Speaker 2: at the Central Valley, and also you're a Lost City

16
00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:51,000
Speaker 2: area also reopened as.

17
00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,279
Speaker 1: Off now so sorry, Andrew, I'll get you to just

18
00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:55,760
Speaker 1: repeat that because the phone cut out there for a moment,

19
00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:56,760
Speaker 1: so tell us again.

20
00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:02,320
Speaker 2: Sorry. The campgrounds the Central Valley, so there's three campgrounds

21
00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:06,320
Speaker 2: involved in that complex, and also the Lost City Day

22
00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:08,440
Speaker 2: Youth Area are now open to the public.

23
00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:14,479
Speaker 1: How challenging has it been to get that fire under control?

24
00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:17,280
Speaker 1: And I guess has there been any update on how

25
00:01:17,319 --> 00:01:18,640
Speaker 1: that bushfire broke out.

26
00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:23,520
Speaker 2: There's been no update on it. It has been reported

27
00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:27,600
Speaker 2: through to the police and we are treating it as suspicious.

28
00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:32,520
Speaker 2: It burned from Friday sorry Thursday, and we still have

29
00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:36,720
Speaker 2: staff monitoring some of the edges today, so there's some

30
00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:42,280
Speaker 2: internal burning that continues. It was a tricky situation that

31
00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:46,360
Speaker 2: it covered a large area of land, about thirty six

32
00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:51,080
Speaker 2: thousand actors is the estimation, and some of that land

33
00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:56,520
Speaker 2: had been previously burnt and obviously crossed over watercourses as well,

34
00:01:56,560 --> 00:02:00,360
Speaker 2: so during that high fire danger in the middle of

35
00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:05,000
Speaker 2: the weekend, it was really triggy to control talk us

36
00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:05,960
Speaker 2: through the damage.

37
00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:08,760
Speaker 1: What kind of damage has been done out there.

38
00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:13,760
Speaker 2: We've been really fortunate and the planning that we put

39
00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:17,720
Speaker 2: in play to keep it well away from the public

40
00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,520
Speaker 2: visitation areas, so it hasn't impacted on any of the

41
00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:25,880
Speaker 2: park's campgrounds or day use areas. But there is a

42
00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:30,040
Speaker 2: large tract of especially the lowlands in Litchfield to the south,

43
00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:34,120
Speaker 2: that have been affected by fire. Some of those areas

44
00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:38,200
Speaker 2: it's moved through in backing fire and the fire hasn't

45
00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:41,320
Speaker 2: been particularly damaging, but certainly there was the main front

46
00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:45,000
Speaker 2: that was at one stage a couple of kilometers wide

47
00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:47,760
Speaker 2: that caused frontal damage.

48
00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:52,680
Speaker 1: Now, were those campsites or any infrastructure there impacted by

49
00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:53,680
Speaker 1: the fire?

50
00:02:55,960 --> 00:03:00,639
Speaker 2: Even for a inspection yesterday and police to say that

51
00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:03,160
Speaker 2: from most of the camp sites, you can't even notice

52
00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,840
Speaker 2: that there was a fire within a kilometer or so

53
00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,760
Speaker 2: of that area. But yeah, that was one of the

54
00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:14,560
Speaker 2: strategies we put in place, was that the campground itself

55
00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:17,639
Speaker 2: wasn't a control line or a fallback line. We had

56
00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:20,680
Speaker 2: done all our work distant to that so that it

57
00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:24,239
Speaker 2: didn't have a lasting effect on the amenity of the area.

58
00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:26,920
Speaker 1: Are you expecting now that it has reopened today or

59
00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:29,359
Speaker 1: some of those areas reopening today, are you expecting quite

60
00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:31,640
Speaker 1: an influx of people heading out there?

61
00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:36,080
Speaker 2: Certainly, the Central Valley is one of the most popular areas.

62
00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:41,360
Speaker 2: It's booked out this camping, especially on the weekends, up

63
00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:44,720
Speaker 2: to six months in advance, so it's a really popular area.

64
00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:49,240
Speaker 2: It's one of those areas that semically it's absolutely stunning.

65
00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:53,240
Speaker 2: It gives you opportunity to sit either by the water

66
00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:55,560
Speaker 2: or in the water and just take in some of it.

67
00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:59,400
Speaker 2: And it's also limited because of the permit system that's

68
00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:03,280
Speaker 2: in place at a real quite a special feel for

69
00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:05,120
Speaker 2: the country without a huge crowd.

70
00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,280
Speaker 1: Now, I know that we have got some firebands that

71
00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:11,960
Speaker 1: have been declared today as well, with extreme fire danger

72
00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:15,440
Speaker 1: conditions in Darwin an Adelaide River today. What is the

73
00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:18,480
Speaker 1: message for those that do choose to head out camping.

74
00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:24,640
Speaker 2: There's a call for everybody to be really vigilant. Obviously

75
00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,200
Speaker 2: a small fire can turn into a big fire very quickly.

76
00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:33,280
Speaker 2: Make sure that those restrictions that occur on a fireband

77
00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:38,640
Speaker 2: day are adhered to. So you're allowed to have a

78
00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:41,960
Speaker 2: cooking fire, but that's the only purpose that you're allowed

79
00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:45,400
Speaker 2: to have a fire in the park, and it's got

80
00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:48,200
Speaker 2: to be in the designated area, so there's no open fires.

81
00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:50,800
Speaker 2: So just take care with fire and if you do

82
00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:53,240
Speaker 2: see something, please report it so that we can get

83
00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:54,560
Speaker 2: on to it as quickly as we can.

84
00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:58,400
Speaker 1: Well. Andrew Turner, the district manager of Top End Parks,

85
00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:01,159
Speaker 1: always appreciate your time. Thanks so much for having a

86
00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:02,200
Speaker 1: chat with us this morning.

87
00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:04,320
Speaker 2: Thanks very much, Katie.

88
00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:05,080
Speaker 1: Thank you