A molotov cocktail thrown at a Parafield Gardens house, Port Lincoln fires under control and an off duty police officer glassed at Payneham
The large fire near Port Lincoln burning in dense scrub is burning out of control, according to the latest CFS update.
8:16PM
The CFS has released its latest update on the fire, saying it's still burning out of control. But winds should drop slightly overnight.
The Coomunga fire is travelling in a northerly direction towards the Flinders Highway and Coomunga.
The CFS said the fire is not controlled and is burning in scrub and conditions are continually changing.
A molotov cocktail thrown at a Parafield Gardens house, Port Lincoln fires under control and an off duty police officer glassed at Payneham
Tonight's forecast for Port Lincoln is for south to southeasterly winds at 30 to 40 km/h, but easing to 20 to 30 km/h in the evening.
Tomorrow should be a maximum of 23 and sunny with east to southeasterly winds of 15 to 25 km/h.
5:45PM:
A CFS map at 5:30pm on Tuesday, November 20, showing the area which the fire burnt, with Port Lincoln to the bottom right.
The latest CFS advice says the bushfire at Mungerowie Scrub, west of Port Lincoln on the Lower Eyre Peninsula near the rifle range on Winch Rd may threaten safety.
The CFS says the uncontrolled Coomunga fire is travelling in a northerly direction towards Flinders Hwy and Coomunga and is burning in scrub.
4:20PM:
The fire has been brought back under control and the threat to homes and property has reduced.
Up close to the Port Lincoln bushfire. Picture: Supplied
3:50PM:
The Country Fire Service has warned the fire at Mungerowie Scrub near the rifle range on Winch Road may threaten safety.
The fire is travelling in a northwest direction and is burning in scrub.
"Put your bushfire survival plan into action," says the message.
The fire as seen from St Mary of the Angels Church, taken by Port Lincoln resident Craig Hughes.
"If your plan is to leave or you are not prepared, leave now."
3:20PM:
The CFS has issued a new warning about the fire, saying it expects a change in wind direction and fuel load to cause the fire to flare and accelerate near the rifle range on Winch Rd in a northeast direction towards Coomunga and the Flinders Highway.
Ominous dark smoke plume above Winter Hill, outside Port Lincoln SA. Shot by: Kiwi White.
It has advised people in the area to leave now if they have not activated their bushfire plans or are not prepared.
Earlier, Acting Emergency Services Minister Ian Hunter said the fire came within 6km of Port Lincoln yesterday but no injuries had been reported.
"There are no reports of homes being lost," he said.
"It will take a couple of days to make sure this is under control but we also have to be careful of the weather on the weekend, which I think Saturday is looking like a bad, high-temperature day, and Tuesday could also be problematic for us."
An aerial photo of the bushfire near Port Lincoln. Picture: Tait Schmaal aboard the Channel 7 News helicopter
He said 1700ha of land has been burnt, and 370 CFS volunteers, 40 appliances, four bulk water carriers, three bulldozers and five fire bombing aircrafts were deployed.
The fire was also the first time the CFS's new mobile phone warning system, that sends alerts to mobiles based on their location, had been used.
The CFS will continue to monitor the fire over the next five to seven days and has warned that residents may see flame and smoke continue to rise from the area.
UPDATE 2pm: A flare-up in the north-east corner of the Port Lincoln bushfire has shrouded the area with black smoke.
Plumes of black smoke from the Port Lincoln bushfire. Picture: Ivon Perrin
A third fixed-wing water bomber has been called to help deal with the flare-up.
Country Fire Service spokeswoman Connie Hassouros said the fire was still burning within control lines and remained static.
Ms Hassouros said residents still needed to be vigilant but there were no new concerns.
Elsewhere, a grass fire burning in Waltowa, to the south-east of Lake Alexandrina, is causing a large amount of smoke and may affect traffic, the CFS has warned.
The Port Lincoln fire, as seen from 35,000 feet - onboard flight QF587. Sent in via NewsForce from Jay
The fire, burning in grass 10km to the north of Meningie, poses no risk to the community but smoke is causing visibility problems on the Princes Highway.
Drivers in the area are advised to take care and be mindful of any traffic restrictions that may be in place.
Meanwhile, investigators have arrived in Port Lincoln to try to determine how the bushfire that threatened the coastal town started.
The blaze, which has burned about 1700ha of heavy scrub, was brought under control by more than 200 firefighters who worked around the clock.
The fire near Port Lincoln. Picture: Vittorio Dal Grande via NewsForce
Fire investigators have arrived in Port Lincoln today to determine what started the blaze.
Country Fire Service Eyre Peninsula and West Coast region commander Kevin May said hotspots would need to be monitored until the first winter rains in April and May as inaccessible patches continued to burn.
Mr May said drier than average conditions, after three years of good winter growth, meant vegetation was ready to burn, comparing the conditions to those usually expected later in the bushfire season.
"It's not a good start (to the season)," he said.
"I think the unfortunate thing is it always seems to pick on Port Lincoln, which brings back those memories from the past and that's a real challenge for us.
"The weather last night was helpful but it could have been a lot more helpful if the wind speed was down."
He said that without the cool change, there could have been a repeat of the December 23 Port Lincoln bushfire that destroyed 13 homes and 11 sheds.
Mr May said no one was required to evacuate their home and no evacuation notices were issued.
He said the CFS was already planning for hot conditions this weekend as temperatures are forecast to reach the mid 30s.
"Those who have done the right thing have been able to turn around and walk away from these (bushfires) feeling confident and knowing the effort they have put in has been worthwhile.
"Others who talk about it and don't put the effort in are in the same boat as they were a couple of years ago.
"More people are doing the right thing ... but there is a lot more that could be done."
Country Fire Service manager of operations Malim Watts said several hundred fire fighters were still deployed across the state, with the majority at Port Lincoln.
Other blazes include a large hay stack fire burning at Pine Hill, near Bordertown, which is visible from the Dukes Hwy, and fires at Humbug Scrub and One Tree Hill.
They were among 300 fires which started late yesterday as thunderstorms rolled across the state, with 31,000 lightning strikes recorded by the Bureau of Meteorology.
The CFS had feared the worst yesterday, as winds fanned flames from the Port Lincoln blaze. Last night, Ms Hassouros said it had been too dangerous for firefighters to get near the front of the fire to determine just how big it was.
The blaze, which started about 14km west of the city, had burnt 1200 hectares by 9pm last night. It was first reported at 10.50am.
Thick smoke billowing from the fire in Mungerowie Scrub had also prevented precise aerial surveillance of the fire front.
Ms Hassouros said last night that CFS fears that the wind would change direction had been realised about 6pm, and the winds had started to swing to a south-west direction, pushing the fire towards Port Lincoln.
CFS Deputy Chief Officer Andrew Lawson said at the time there was a real threat to the city.
"There are quite a number of houses on the north-west of Port Lincoln on the outskirts," he said.
"We're working feverishly over there to control this fire before it gets to those outskirts.
"A number of people have evacuated. We're not aware of any homes that are under direct threat at the moment but there are a lot of houses in the outskirts of Pt Lincoln that may come under threat."
Mr Lawson said the cause of the fire had not been determined but it may have been a lightning strike.
Fearing the worst earlier in the day, many people had packed their most valuable possessions, hitched their boats to the four-wheel drives and headed for the foreshore.
Port Lincoln resident Harry Pieterman said he had evacuated his home about 2pm and would be spending the night in his caravan.
Mr Pieterman said his daughter, who lives at North Shields, had also fled to spend the night in the city.
"I could sense a bit of panic about lunchtime," he said. "I could see a lot of cars going around everywhere."
Port Lincoln real estate agent Steve Kemp said ash was raining from the sky.
"There's ash all over our office and the cars the whole street is covered in ash," he said. "Hopefully the weather does the right thing and the weather does change."
Port Lincoln resident Kiwi White, 68, was packed and ready to evacuate. He feared that some residents were complacent.
"I've rung a few people asking if they are getting out and they don't have the right attitude," he said.
"They're like no, we'll be all right. They should be thinking more seriously about it.
"It's been a wet winter there's a lot of dry grass and dry trees and most people have a lot of bushes.
"When it comes in with a vengeance like it did today it can continue right through the town."
Mr White said having a plan in place and being ready to evacuate was essential when dealing with a blaze the size of the Coomunga fire.
"I'm packed up and ready to go," he said. "I've seen how powerful bushfires can be. It's important to be ready to act."
There were reports of evacuations at Port Lincoln prison but a spokeswoman from the prison said that had not been the case
Corrections SA had been monitoring the fire's path to decide if prisoners would be moved.
"We're doing our business continuity preparation in case of any need to do so but we're in liaison with police and CFS at a local level," a spokesman for Corrections SA said yesterday.
CFS State Co-ordinator Brenton Eden praised the efforts of firefighters who tackled the blaze near Port Lincoln.
Five fixed-wing water bombing aircraft also fought the fire.
A series of lightning strikes during the afternoon also caused between 90 to 100 fires across the state, to which more than 200 that CFS volunteers responded.
In the three hours from 3.30pm, more than 100 fires ignited across the Lower North, Murraylands and South East, as a storm swept eastwards across SA.
Areas hit included Robe, Keith, Lameroo, Tailem Bend, Langhorne Creek and Lower Light.
Fires were also reported in the Adelaide Hills at Kersbrook, Strathalbyn and Basket Range.
The Coomunga fire comes in the wake of fires on the Eyre Peninsula that destroyed some 1800 hectares of thick scrubland on Monday just last week.
The CFS yesterday revealed those fires were caused by lightning.
Last week's fires destroyed a home, 14 cabins, a caravan, a campervan, several sheds and four cars.
Lower Eyre Peninsula District Council mayor Julie Low said residents would be fearful after major fires in the past 11 years.
"I know people who are still recovering from the 2005 (Wangary) fire," she said.
- with Sam Kelton, Steve Rice and David Nankervis
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