National

Multiple bushfire emergencies flare up in strong winds

Dec 4, 2025

Smoke from a bushfire at Glenlusk — A rural area outside Hobart is under threat from bushfires, with residents urged to evacuate. -AAP Image

Several bushfires have flared in Tasmania on a day of wild winds, prompting emergency evacuation warnings.

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The state's fire service issued the immediate evacuation warning for Glenlusk, on the outskirts of Hobart's northern suburbs, just before 2pm on Thursday.

The rural area is home to about 200 people, with the fire close to properties after sparking in vegetation.

The fire service has been unable to use helicopters near Glenlusk due to high wind speeds, which have reached gusts as high as 85km/h in the state's capital city.

"Conditions are pretty unfavourable for firefighting due to the strong winds and warm temperatures," regional fire commander Simon Pilkington told the ABC.

Crews were protecting assets in the area, he said, ahead of the weather calming later on Thursday.

An emergency warning was issued for an out-of-control bushfire at the small rural settlement of Levendale, about 50km north of Hobart.

"There is expected to be thick smoke, and showers of embers which may cause fires all around you," the fire service said.

"Spot fires may threaten your home before the main fire arrives. Conditions are expected to be changeable."

There were several other lesser bushfire warnings issued on Thursday, including at Dolphin Sands on the state's east coast which lost homes in a 2023 blaze.