6:15PM UPDATE: The warning has been reduced to Monitor Conditions.
A significant scrub fire near Joanna, approximately 15km south of Naracoorte, is currently affecting the South East region. The incident, identified as the Struan Fire, started in dense scrubland, and has quickly expanded to approximately 20 hectares.
Warning level
Watch and Act – Leave Now
Action
Leave now. This bushfire may threaten your safety. Check that the path is clear and go to a safer place. Do not enter this area as conditions are dangerous.
The JOANNA bushfire is uncontrolled. This scrub fire is burning in a North Easterly direction towards Struan, Joanna, Caves Road and the Naracoorte Caves National Park. Conditions are continually changing.
For updates, check the CFS website at cfs.sa.gov.au or phone the Information Hotline on 1800 362 361.
As the fire continues to burn, it’s generating substantial smoke, impacting air quality and visibility around the Naracoorte Caves National Park. Authorities are urging residents and tourists to remain vigilant and heed safety advice. The CFS has deployed an intense response, including eight fire trucks and six aircraft, consisting of fire bombers, a Black Hawk helicopter, and observational aircraft, in an effort to control and extinguish the blaze.
The CFS volunteers, assisted by National Parks and Wildlife staff, One Forty-One, and other forest owners’ firefighters, are focusing their efforts on protecting local properties and preventing the fire from crossing the Straun-Joanna road. The extensive response also features emergency service personnel managing road safety in the vicinity, as visibility may be reduced.
Road users have been advised to avoid the area to prevent interference with emergency operations and ensure their own safety. Local residents have been recommended to close windows and doors to avoid smoke inhalation.
Homes that have been built to withstand a bushfire, and are prepared to the highest level, may provide safety.
You may lose power, water, phone and data connections.Fire crews are responding but you should not expect a firefighter at your door.
What you should do
Check and follow your Bushfire Survival Plan.
Protect yourself from the fire’s heat – put on protective clothing.
Tell family or friends of your plans.
If you are leaving, leave now, don’t delay.
Roads may become blocked or access may change. Smoke will reduce visibility.
Secure your pets for travel.
If you become stuck in your car, park away from bushes, cover yourself, get onto the floor as the windows may break from the intense heat.
If you are not leaving – prepare to defend
Identify a safe place inside, with more than one exit, before the fire arrives. Keep moving away from the heat of the fire.
Bring pets inside and restrain them.
Move flammable materials such as doormats, wheelie bins and outdoor furniture away from your house.
Close doors and windows to keep smoke out.If you have sprinklers, turn them on to wet the areas.
If the building catches fire, go to an area already burnt. Check around you for anything burning.
Stay informed
CFS website cfs.sa.gov.au
Information Hotline 1800 362 361
For hearing or speech impaired users, phone 1300 555 727 then ask for 1800 362 361
For teletype service TTY 133 677 then ask for 1800 362 361
CFS on Facebook or XAlert SA Mobile App
On local ABC radio, FIVEaa, or one of our other Emergency Broadcast PartnersFor emergencies call Triple Zero (000).
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