Subscribe Sign in

Emergency warning downgraded as crews bring Top End fire under control

ABC News (Just In)
3 min read Rewritten in plain language

Bushfires

Show what we removed Rules applied: A3×3 A9 C1×2 D1 D2 D3×4 E3×3 E5 all 30 rules
  • Bushfires Northern Territory has downgraded an emergency warning for a fire at Stockwell Road in Blackmore, south of Darwin, to an advice level.
  • Top End residents are urged to "remain vigilant into the evening" and keep across advice from authorities, such as a risk of smoke impacting visibility.
  • Bushfires NT said structures had been impacted as the fire moved towards Mieland Road and Tuey Close earlier today, and residents in the area were advised to enact their bushfire survival plan.
  • A 24-hour fire ban period for the Top End has been extended into tomorrow.
  • Mieland Road resident Danielle Sbona said she rushed home this afternoon to find "fire all around our house and my horse paddock".

5 sentences from our version of the report, chosen to cover it. Nothing here is written; every line is in the article below. How

Headline check

Headline as published: Emergency warning downgraded as crews bring Top End blaze under control

The one thing this headline claims is in the report.

Figures, names and quoted words in the headline, looked for in the report itself — not in the summary above. One claim in this headline could be checked, so this is a narrow pass and not a thorough one. How this is checked

Read the full reportHide the full report3 min

Bushfires Northern Territory has downgraded an emergency warning for a fire at Stockwell Road in Blackmore, south of Darwin, to an advice level.

Earlier today, Acting Chief Fire Control Officer Nathaniel Stanford said some structures had reportedly been "engulfed" but details were yet to be confirmed.

Top End residents are urged to "remain vigilant into the evening" and keep across advice from authorities, such as a risk of smoke impacting visibility.

Northern Territory authorities have downgraded an emergency warning for a fire at Stockwell Road in Blackmore, west of Berry Springs, describing it as a "decreasing threat".

Bushfires NT said structures had been impacted as the fire moved towards Mieland Road and Tuey Close earlier today, and residents in the area were advised to enact their bushfire survival plan.

"There is a reduced level of threat, you can resume normal activities," Bushfires NT said after 7pm on Wednesday.

Despite the earlier watch and act being downgraded to advice, authorities have warned smoke may impact visibility and "active fire may occur close to the roadside".

A separate watch and act, previously in place for a fast-moving fire at Uralla Road in Katherine East, was also downgraded earlier this afternoon.

A 24-hour fire ban period for the Top End has been extended into tomorrow.

Earlier this afternoon, Acting Chief Fire Control Officer Nathaniel Stanford told ABC Radio Darwin properties along Mieland Road were under threat.

He said "tactical back burns" had been used to get the spot fires under control, but reports from the fireground indicated structures in the area had been "impacted and engulfed".

"We haven't confirmed all the details on that yet," he said earlier this afternoon.

Bushfires NT said crews would "remain on-site into the evening for mop-up and patrol purposes".

"Residual smoke is expected overnight and tomorrow morning — if you see active fire, please call Triple Zero (000)," the 7:15pm update said.

Earlier, Mr Stanford said observations on the ground appeared to confirm the fire had crossed to the western side of Mieland Road, and spot fires had approached "a number of homes".

"We are still getting numerous spot fires travelling ahead of this fire front and they are taking on the western side of Mieland Road," he said this afternoon.

"We're seeing flames in excess of 5 metres high and the spotting ahead, which is causing this fire to move fast.

"We will keep all of our messaging up to date as to the likely spread of this fire so that community members can be aware."

Mr Stanford said it remained unclear whether the structures already impacted were homes or other buildings, with the fire's perimeter growing in excess of 10 kilometres "quite rapidly".

"When conditions allow, we will be undertaking further back-burning which will increase that to try and contain this fire, but at the moment our main focus is on the protection of the properties along Mieland Road and Tuey Close," he said earlier this afternoon.

Earlier, Blackmore resident Cindy — who lives on Stockwell Road — said the fire had been "probably about three properties away" from her.

"This is our first year living here … I think, where the fire started, the house on that block is just gone," she told ABC Radio Darwin this afternoon.

"It's large, I could hear things blowing up because they had some old cars on their properties, so they're blowing up as the fire goes through.

Cindy said neighbours and locals volunteers "on buggies" had supported fire-fighting efforts by carrying water over to the fire.

"We have water tanks so if it was to come this [direction] we don't have much water to save ourselves, so hopefully it doesn't turn," she said.

Mieland Road resident Danielle Sbona said she rushed home this afternoon to find "fire all around our house and my horse paddock".

"Thank God we live in a really good community, we had a lot of neighbours out there wetting down the place," she said.

Ms Sbona said pre-prepared fire breaks were "probably one of the only things that saved us".

"So thankfully, although it came right up to our fences, it didn't come through anything, we didn't have any grass or anything for it to catch," she said.

"We've got a couple of animals out here, so more concerned about the animals to be honest.

"I raced down to Darwin River supermarket just to grab more fuel for the water pumps and stuff, and to be honest, I've got to go back and pay for it.

"They said: 'You know, just take it and go back' and pay for it [later]."

You are reading our version, not theirs. This is ABC News (Just In)'s report with its verdicts and loaded words taken out. Plain description stays, and so do adjectives that carry a fact, such as "former" or "federal". The reporting, the facts and the quotations are theirs — quotations are never edited — and the indicators beside it measure this version. Hover or tap Adjectives to see every one left in the text.

How this outlet filed it, and how we rewrote it

No other newsroom we read has filed on this event, so there is nothing to compare it with yet.

Outlet Niral ScoreAdjectivesSourcingSentimentHappiness
ABC News (Just In)as they published this story 11.2 3 79 -0.3 11.5
Mundane Readneutralized from ABC News (Just In) 5.5 3 79 -0.1 22.2

Sign in to react.

Comments

Nothing here yet.

Sign in to comment.

Questions

Readers can ask a question about this story here. Questions and answers are for subscribers. Sign in to read them.

Comments are read before they appear where anything in them needs a person to look. Nothing posted here is ever deleted; a comment taken down keeps its text and the reason, so the decision can be looked at again. How this works