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Buildings, livestock lost in SA bushfire

Tim DorninAAP
South Australia Police will look into the cause of a grass fire which threatened homes.
Camera IconSouth Australia Police will look into the cause of a grass fire which threatened homes.

Several buildings have been confirmed lost along with livestock and fencing but a major scrub and grass fire in South Australia's southeast is now contained.

The Country Fire Service says the blaze which threatened the town of Lucindale at one stage on Monday has burnt through 14,073 hectares

It says several buildings are lost or substantially damaged with assessment teams on the ground to check more areas impacted by the blaze.

A police investigation is also underway to determine the cause.

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Deputy Police Commissioner Linda Williams said the fire was an important reminder to everyone in SA about how quickly they can flare and pose a threat to lives and property.

"What we saw yesterday was how quickly things can turn when you get the combination of the warm weather and the wind, and how susceptible we are as a community," she said.

"People need to be prepared and we saw a community that was prepared and responded very quickly and very effectively.

"I commend them for that."

A bushfire advice message remains in place for the region with the CFS warning locals of the dangers still present, including downed power lines and burnt trees.

SA Power Networks said about 3000 properties were still without electricity, with crews working to restore services.

About 200 firefighters remained on the scene on Tuesday with support from farm firefighting units.

They were supported by water-bombing aircraft with more than 100 drops conducted across the fire ground.

Strong winds fanned the blaze with a cool change pushing it towards Lucindale and Naracoorte.

CFS Duty Commander Brenton Hastie said as the change moved through it caused the fire to expand rapidly and change shape.

It came amid dangerous conditions across much of SA on Monday, with very high temperatures and rising winds.

Fire crews were on standby across the state with command centres established.

By early afternoon Adelaide had climbed past its forecast maximum of 37C with a high of 38.3C, while in regional centres the mercury soared into the low 40s.

Cooler conditions prevailed across most of the state on Tuesday with temperatures in the mid-20s forecast for the rest of the week.

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