An unattended campfire has sparked a large bushfire in Kakadu national park, closing popular campgrounds and threatening Arnhem Land.
On Thursday the fire in the southern part of the heritage-listed park was burning through the stone country region. Parks Australia said it was working with West Arnhem Land fire abatement team and Nitmiluk national park to contain the fire before it reached Arnhem Land.
A spokeswoman said there was a “low” risk of it spreading to Nitmiluk national park, near Katherine.
“The best course of action for us is on ground management to attack the fire,” she said. “Our support teams will be working across the fires over the next few days alongside aerial fire-bombing to create breaks. We are hopeful this work will contain the fire.”
Kakadu park’s manager, Pete Cotsell, told the ABC there were no immediate concerns for public safety as the fire was burning in a very remote area, but it had forced the closure of the Jim Jim Falls and Twin Falls campgrounds.
The fire began at an untended campfire, Cotsell said, and park employees were checking through satellite footage.
Earlier this month a large fire was sparked in Kakadu when a weed management burn by the Ranger uranium mine got out of control.
The mine, near the township of Jabiru, is surrounded by national park. A change in wind conditions caused the fire to jump containment lines, the mine operators, Energy Resources Australia (ERA), said.
ERA was criticised for lighting a fire so late in the dry season, and the federal environment minister, Greg Hunt, ordered an investigation.
It was the second year in a row a controlled burn by ERA had sparked a bushfire. NT fire and rescue services later revealed ERA had been warned not to begin a controlled burn that day.
