Fire contained at Kanmantoo on 2026’s hottest day
The threat posed by a fire west of Callington has passed, the Country Fire Service has advised.
A fire at Kanmantoo is no longer threatening public safety, the Country Fire Service has advised.
The grass fire broke out alongside the railway line off Back Callington Road, 3.5 kilometres west of Callington, around 9am.
Within the hour, 40 firefighters were on the scene, supported by five aircraft, police, paramedics and traffic controllers.
Water bombers dropped 20 loads along the freeway to ensure it could remain open.
A watch and act message for an area between Callington and Woodchester was rescinded just before 10.30am.
The cause of the fire was determined not to be suspicious.
By coincidence, independent election candidate and Callington resident Airlie Keen had warned about bushfire fuel along the freeway in a social media post less than 24 hours before the fire.
The Department for Infrastructure and Transport's failure to slash long, dry grass along the freeway had put communities at risk, she suggested.
She called on state Transport Minister Emily Bourke to prioritise hazard reduction.
How hot was it on Wednesday, anyway?
Extreme fire danger had been expected across the Murraylands on Wednesday, as the Bureau of Meteorology forecast northerly winds and temperatures in the mid-40s, including 46 in Murray Bridge.
The weather station at Pallamana recorded a temperature of 44.3 degrees just before 3pm, which would be the hottest day of the summer so far and the hottest for several years.
The last time it reached 45 degrees locally was in January 2021.
Residents of fire-prone areas should follow their bushfire survival plans, or consider preparing one if they haven’t already.
- Make a bushfire survival plan: www.cfs.sa.gov.au.
