AT least one house has been lost as the uncontrolled blaze near Copping continues to rage.
One local resident, who asked not to be named, said he had seen his house catch fire from a nearby property.
"I was on a spur and I could see the fire come across," he said.
"The great big house at the top of the hill went first and then it came down to my house.
"I saw it catch fire -- I knew where to look -- and I thought 'Any moment now', and it went up.
"There a lot of nice things gone but that is the way of the world. It's a devil of a thing."
Fires rage across the State
The man said just hours before the fire arrived at his home, about 1km west of Copping, he had removed his most cherished possession.
"I have my vehicle out the back here loaded up with valuable because there was no way I could save my place," he said.
"I just scrammed. You have to be sensible about these things."
Shortly after 4pm, fire crews scrambled to protect properties in the vicinity Marshton Lane, south of Copping.
Fanned by heavy winds the fire continued to burn out of control and on a long front to the west and south of Copping.
The fire front is now affecting Dunalley, Primrose Sands, Murdunna, Sommers Bay and surrounds.
It is expected to affect Eaglehawk Neck, Taranna and Doo Town within an hour.
The Tasman Highway has been closed by police road block at several point between Sorell and Dunalley.
As the fire slowly approaches, Copping residents are likely to be evacuated via the Wielangta road to Orford.
The large bushfire jumped the Arthur Highway near Carlton River at Copping shortly after 1.30pm.
A sudden deterioration in the wind fanned the flames across the road and towards the house where residents had earlier said they were planning to stay.
"We were at Port Arthur at our shack, so we came up last night but it doesn't seem to be getting any worse," the owner said earlier this morning.
"We are perfectly safe here. We've got a ploughed paddock and a road between us and the fire, although where it will go from here, I don't know."
For further details, visit www.fire.tas.gov.au and listen to ABC local radio for updates and emergency broadcasts.
On the upper side of the Arthur Highway, TFS crews were able to defend a home which was completely surrounded by the fast-moving fire.
Aided by the close-cropped paddocks of the hill-top farm, firefighters were able to minimise damage to the property, which lost several old wooden wagons and a large store of hay, but was otherwise undamaged.
The fire tore through forest adjacent to the Copping landfill site, which is the site of a controversial contaminated waste disposal development.
One local resident, who was too upset to speak in detail, said he has fought a desperate battle with a fire pump and hose to protect his property.
The man said moments before the fire reached his house the pump ran out of petrol.
It was only the rapid arrival of fire fighters that saved the man's house.
Several buildings at the property were destroyed.
The fire is currently around 1km from the small town of Copping, burning in rugged bushland.
The flames also came to within metres of Nick Hildyard's home, several kilometres north of Copping.
My Hillyard, his father in a bulldozer and several locals with fire-fighting equipment stopped the fire almost the house's back door.
"It was pretty close, I guess," My Hillyard said.
Todd Hildyard was out cutting firebreaks with his bulldozer when the fire threatened his home.
"We were bloody lucky, she was awful close to getting in here," Mr Hildyard said as he surveyed the burnt grass surrounding his home.
"We've been putting in breaks since last night. We've been going flat out
"We were waiting on the wind; we knew once it got here the fire would go.
"This is the biggest fire we've had here for 20 years."
The fire threatened several other houses in the area and although none were lost a large wool shed near the highway was completely destroyed.
Local Mark Seabourne said the fire approached quickly as the wind changed.
"It done come very close, but they've kept it away," he said,
"Lucky Nigel was up there with a load of water on his truck."
Nigel White, whose property is nearby, said the fire is being fanned by strong winds.
"It looks like it's going towards Connelly's Marsh and Primrose Sands and the back of Dunalley," he said.
The fire is burning about 3km north of the town of Copping,
Police and fire fighters have warned residents they should evacuate ahead the blaze.
The Arthur Highway between Forcett and Dunalley has been closed, cutting off access to the Tasman Peninsula.
The Highway was closed at noon, because of the anticipated effects of the bushfire burning in the area.
The Highway is closed from Old Forcett Rd at Forcett to Copping.
All tourists intending to travel to this area are asked to stay away.
Police said the closure would be reassessed as conditions ease.
The fire which has burnt out about 1000ha of bushland near Copping continued to burn uncontained through the morning.
Many locals had taken Tasmania Fire Service advice to evacuate while others turned out to help with the fire-fighting effort.
The fire was burning in bushland north of the Arthur Highway near Copping.
Kate North, from the Copping Convict and Colonial Collection tourist attraction, said she wasn't presently concerned about the danger posed by the fire.
"If the wind doesn't come up we should be OK," she said.
"The problem will be if it gets up into the bush and heads towards Dunalley.
"We've had a lot of tourists through today and a lot of were heading for Port Arthur."
Ms North said many local residents had evacuated the area on the advice of the TFS.
"We know people right down near Marion Bay who have cleared out.
"We were worried last night when it was coming towards our house but then the wind turned and it went the other way."
Despite warm and blustery conditions during the morning, there did not appear to be any immediate threat to property nor to the town of Copping itself.
However, the conditions are expected to deteriorate later in the day.
Police have also advised that people should avoid the Stormlea area, near Nubeena, where a vegetation fire is burning.
The TFS has earlier advised residents in areas near two major bushfires burning out of control in the state's South to leave their homes early this morning.
The Tasmania Fire Service says people should get out first thing this morning and stay out of the affected regions until further notice.
With the two blazes raging at Forcett, near Sorell, and in the Lake Repulse region in the lower Derwent Valley, those affected are residents of:
• Broad River
• Jones River
• Ellendale Rd to Ellendale
• The Copping area, including Kellevie Rd
• Marion Bay Rd
• Arthur Highway
"People living in these areas need to plan now," fire service spokesman Gavin Freeman said last night.
He said there were several fires burning across the state last night that were of major concern to the fire service ahead of predicted extreme fire weather conditions today.
"The safest option is to leave [this] morning and go to a relative or friend's house away from the affected areas.
"Even well-prepared properties may not be defendable."
Given the predicted conditions today, the fire service says it may not be able to control fires.
People who relocate need to be self-sufficient.
Community fire refuges will be open from 8am today at the Ouse Hall on the Lyell Highway, and the Memorial Hall on Cole St, Sorell.
"If you choose not to leave and the fire is going to impact on you, you may be able to travel to a nearby safer place.
Otherwise you should prepare to shelter in your home," Mr Freeman said.
"Leaving at the last minute can be extremely dangerous."
The fire service was last night battling 22 blazes across the state, using 63 fire trucks, nine helicopters and one plane.
Forestry Tasmania, Parks and Wildlife and Norske Skog were also helping in the mammoth effort to control the blazes before weather conditions dramatically worsened today.
The worst of the fires yesterday were at Lake Repulse, Forcett and Richmond in the state's South, and Four Mile Creek on the East Coast.
Middle Tea Tree Rd at Richmond remained closed last night, with fire crews battling a blaze within kilometres of the township.
However, the fire service said the worst danger had passed by last night.
Earlier in the afternoon, residents in the path of the fire were advised to leave their homes before the fire got any closer unless their property was defendable.
Richmond local Andrew Patterson and his son Alec turned out to help fight the fire along Middle Tea Tree Rd.
"It's been a few years since we had a decent fire through here," he said between hosing off patches of burning grass.
"I don't want to see my paddock of barley go up in flames. Luckily it has stayed on this side of the road."
Mr Patterson said he was already planning for the danger of fire in the hot and windy conditions when the blaze broke out.
"We were driving home and I said to Alec we'd better go and fill the fire tank up, and halfway between here and Cambridge I saw the smoke and I thought 'I don't like the look of that'."
A total fire ban remains in place statewide today.
Report any outbreak of smoke or fire in your area immediately by calling 000.
-- with ZARA DAWTREY
