Morwell fire: Hazelwood operator had no access to government risk modelling
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Version 0 of 1. The operators of the Victorian coalmine that burned for 45 days did not have access to government modelling that showed it was under threat from bushfires, an inquiry has heard. A government fire behaviour expert said modelling showed the Hazelwood open-cut mine, operated by GDF Suez, could have been directly affected by a blaze known as the Driffield fire and could have been affected by embers from another fire, known as the Hernes Oak fire, on 9 February. A fire in the Hazelwood mine, believed to have been sparked by bushfire spotting, shrouded the neighbouring town of Morwell in smoke and ash for weeks, forcing some residents to leave. A Department of Environment and Primary Industries modelling expert, Jaymie Norris, said bushfire behaviour models were a valuable planning tool. "These documents, the information, should be made available to everybody," Norris said. On the second day of an inquiry into the fire, a lawyer from GDF Suez asked if anybody who had access could have seen the mine was going to be impacted. "It's impossible to know that for sure," Norris said. The GDF Suez services superintendent, David Shanahan, said he hadn't seen the modelling but he didn't need to see it to know the "dire" risk to the mine. DEPI modelling showed that, without firefighters, the Driffield fire would have hit the mine. "This is indicative of the suppression effectiveness," Norris said. On Monday, the inquiry heard both fires were being treated as suspicious. The inquiry continues. |