Tasmania's fire service has downgraded the threat from an out-of-control bushfire near Hobart from emergency level to watch and act.

 

Spot fires have been reported in the Lachlan area, which was put on alert mid-afternoon.

 

At 8:00pm, the Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) said the fire was still not under control and it could put the area around Moss Beds Road and Top Swamp Road, as well as surrounding areas, at high risk over the next 24 hours.

 

However roads around Lachlan have reopened.

 

TFS spokesman Paul Tavasz said crews would patrol the hills around Lachlan overnight and help locals defend their properties.

 

Earlier, Southern Fire Controller Phil Smith said aircraft crews had struggled to access fresh water to battle the blaze about a 40-kilometre drive from Hobart.

 

He said a lack of freshwater was hampering efforts in the Derwent Valley.

 

"We have a great deficiency in access to water in that western area, Molesworth, Lachlan area," he said.

 

"There aren't many areas we can pull fresh water from and we can't use salt water so it's quite a challenge for us."

 

No evacuation centre was in place but some residents took refuge at Gleeson Park in Lachlan.

 

On a day of total fire bans in the state's south, about 60 crews and seven aircraft were deployed fighting fires.

 

During the height of the Derwent Valley fire, a smoke alert was issued for the Greater Hobart area.

 

Fires were also burning at Elderslie, Electrona south of Hobart, and at Lefroy in the north.

 

The latest updates can be found on the TFS website.

 

-------From ABC NEWS

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-26/study-into-impact-of-smoke-on-public-health-from-bushfires/7447442