16 September 2011

Mitchell off limits all weekend

| johnboy
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The ACT Fire Brigade has advised that the exclusion zone in Mitchell will remain in place for the weekend.

Assessments will be ongoing and information will be released as fire-fighting efforts continue. People need to exercise caution in areas directly surrounding the exclusion zone in Mitchell. Fire-fighting activities are continuing at the site and there is still smoke present.

The fire has been contained to the site and there is no danger to surrounding properties however fire-fighters will continue to monitor the situation and advise of changes.

Gungahlin Drive northbound between Barton Hwy and Kosciuszko Ave is now open.

[Courtesy ESA]

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Felix the Cat said :

Sanford St was blocked off yet Wells Station Rd was open – it runs only a couple of hundred metres as the crow flies from the fire scene.

Probably due to the wind direction: Wells Station is North of Mitchell, i.e. upwind while Flemington and Sandford are a lot closer to downwind.

Felix the Cat9:46 pm 18 Sep 11

TheWhiteRoom said :

I wonder how the exclusion zone was determined, as there are many residential properties allot closer to the fire location than many properties in Mitchell. Have the residential areas across the road from Mitchell being tested for dangerous chemical residue? Would you expect the exclusion zone to be a set distance from the fire, as it was on Friday morning, rather than being determined by the boundaries of a suburb?

I was wondering avout that myself seeing as how Sanford St was blocked off yet Wells Station Rd was open – it runs only a couple of hundred metres as the crow flies from the fire scene.

DUB said :

Big losses to brothels there, Fyshwick must be over-flowing with MPs. 🙂

They aren’t in town Friday to Monday … so no loss!

TheWhiteRoom said :

I wonder how the exclusion zone was determined, as there are many residential properties allot closer to the fire location than many properties in Mitchell.

Many years ago a friends house was near a similar exclusion zone after a gas fire. The exclusion zone in that case I believe was 200m which cut through his property. We were allowed onto the property but had to park the cars on the southern side of the block because the northern side was off-limits. The SES guys manning the roadblock were quite friendly chaps and we had many a cuppa with them over the night.

Big losses to brothels there, Fyshwick must be over-flowing with MPs. 🙂

TheWhiteRoom8:30 am 18 Sep 11

I wonder how the exclusion zone was determined, as there are many residential properties allot closer to the fire location than many properties in Mitchell. Have the residential areas across the road from Mitchell being tested for dangerous chemical residue? Would you expect the exclusion zone to be a set distance from the fire, as it was on Friday morning, rather than being determined by the boundaries of a suburb?

vg said :

Misleading headline.

Mitchell isn’t ‘off limits’ in the least. There’s just a 300m exclusion zone around the fire site…that’s it

My partner tried to go to work in Mitchell this morning. He tried every entrance to the suburb that he knew of (and, having worked there for over 7 years, he knows quite a few!) and every one was blocked off. He could not get near his work – which is not near Dacre St. Mitchell was definitely “off limits” at 7.30am.

Not that he was very disappointed!

creative_canberran5:40 pm 17 Sep 11

I-filed said :

Are there really no chemical effects from the fire? I woke up with a headache this morning – unheard of!

From ESA this afternoon:

Due to smoke being carried east, northeast and southeast from the factory fire at Mitchell, ACT just before midnight on September 15, people in the path of the smoke should take basic precautions.

While the risk is low, it is possible that some toxic residue may have been deposited in the path of the smoke, with comprehensive testing currently being undertaken by the ACT Environment Protection Authority (EPA).

As a precaution people are advised to take the following steps:

not collect drinking water from roofs or other catchments until these surfaces have been washed down;

drain or service ‘first flush diverters’ if they are part of a rainwater collection system;

wash fruit and vegetables picked from gardens before eating; and

where possible, provide bore water or town water for stock rather than dam water or other exposed water.

A small amount of fire fighting foam and other material has entered Flemington Road ponds but this has been isolated and does not affect drinking water supplies.

Phew, lucky we got that second strip club!

Just to update everyone, I live in Harrison and Flemington Road is closed from the Nullabor Ave intersection meaning you can’t access the waste centre or the markets at EPIC.

…anyone know (for certain) if the waste centre (tip) is open? According to ESA, part of Flemington Road is closed – but does that include heading down from Franklin?… I have some rubbish that would be served much better at the waste centre, than in my trailer in my front yard…

Are there really no chemical effects from the fire? I woke up with a headache this morning – unheard of!

Waiting For Godot9:14 am 17 Sep 11

I bet the people running the Computer Fair are glad they didn’t have one at EPIC this weekend.

krasny said :

On a related note, the AWM’s Facebook page reports that they have (obviously) cancelled Big Things In Store, with no certainty of a reschedule.

Bummer. Was going out there with the old man Sunday.

Misleading headline.

Mitchell isn’t ‘off limits’ in the least. There’s just a 300m exclusion zone around the fire site…that’s it

On a related note, the AWM’s Facebook page reports that they have (obviously) cancelled Big Things In Store, with no certainty of a reschedule.

I feel sorry for the businesses in Mitchell, all that lost revenue.

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