COMMUNITY MEETINGS

If you live in or around southern Tuggeranong suburbs, we’re inviting you to come along to an open community forum TODAY.

It’s your chance to hear from Chief Officer of ACT Rural Fire Service Joe Murphy about the current bushfire situation and how you can best prepare for challenging conditions this weekend.

DETAILS:

  • Where: Lanyon Vikings Club, Heidelberg Street, Conder
  • When: TODAY 31/01/2020 - 5:50pm for a 6:00pm start

We are continuing to host community meetings in the ACT as part of our efforts to keep you as up to date as possible. These meetings are a chance for ACT community members to hear information directly from ESA members. The following meetings are currently booked:

URIARRA - THURSDAY, 30 JANUARY
Venue: Uriarra Community Hall
Time: 6:00pm

THARWA - FRIDAY, 31 JANUARY
Venue: Tharwa Hall
Time: 10:00am

The ACT Emergency Services Agency (ESA) will be holding two community meetings tomorrow, Tuesday 28 January. An Auslan interpreter will be present at both meetings.

  • THARWA - Town Hall at 10:00am
  • URIARRA - Community Centre at 6:00pm

These meetings will be attended by representatives from ACT Rural Fire Service, ACT State Emergency Service, ACT Policing, ACT ESA. This is a chance to hear about the current fire situation in the ACT and ask questions.

250 people attended the Uriarra and Tharwa community meetings over the weekend. This included owners and leaseholders from both communities, along with some residents from urban areas of Canberra including Banks, Gordon and Conder.

There were a lot of people sharing their own experiences from the 2003 Canberra fires, in a bid to encourage others to consider evacuating if the worst were to happen.

A key issue raised during the community meetings was forced evacuations and road closures.

Forced evacuations will not be implemented in the ACT.

Where roads are closed for safety reasons, the ESA will work with Police and Roads ACT to inform the community.

Residents wanting to return home to defend their properties will be given access until the bushfire warning level reaches Emergency Warning.

There are two messages that the ESA would give to the community at Emergency Warning level:

  • Evacuate now because leaving the area is the safest option; or
  • shelter-in-place because it is too late to leave and the safest place to be is within a solid structure that offers protection from the fire.

In line with the Emergency Warning messaging, residents will not be able to pass a roadblock at a closed road for their own safety and the safety of emergency personnel working in the area.

Over the coming days we will be compiling more information we gathered at shopping centre pop-ups and the community meetings.

We will share with you what we have heard from the community, answer questions we took away and address key concerns raised.

We are holding two community meetings this weekend - one in Tharwa and one in Uriarra. Residents and landholders in these area are strongly encouraged to attend for up to date information on the current ACT State of Alert and bushfire conditions.

For residents of Tharwa, Tidbinbilla, Smiths Road and Naas:

Tharwa Community Hall
Saturday 11 January 2020 – 11:00am

For residents of Uriarra and surrounding areas:

Uriarra Village Community Centre
Sunday 12 January 2020 – 11:00am