Residents near large prescribed burns in Adelaide's foothills have expressed alarm at the scale of the fires, which generated large smoke plumes, however, the agency in charge says everything has gone according to plan.
The burn-offs at the Black Hill and Morialta conservation parks triggered concerns of a bushfire among some locals, with photos and videos circulating on social media showing the hills ablaze.
However, the Department for Environment and Water (DEW) — the agency in charge of controlled burns in South Australia — says the fires are not out of control.
The department's fire planning manager Ian Tanner told ABC Radio Adelaide they would continue to monitor the prescribed burn today, but people should stick to the trails if they wished to go bushwalking in the park.
"It was very much a controlled burn," he said.
"Particularly when burns or fires run into the evening and the sun goes down, they always look more impressive than what they really are.
"The whole point was to do this sort of work under these conditions and not have to try and fight fire in that country in January.
"The Morialta one created the most impressive columns of smoke, the Black Hill one would have been unnoticed."
The department had issued a statement saying the prescribed burn at Morialta Conservation Park has "gone to plan" with "no risk to properties".
One Athelstone resident, Branka Watson, said she lives less than 5 kilometres away and that Black Hill and Morialta were "densely populated by trees".
"Flames can be seen with naked eye. Huge smoke," she said.
The Bureau of Meteorology's forecast for the area on Tuesday is that temperature should reach a maximum of 27 Celsius, with a moderate fire danger in the Mount Lofty Ranges.
