Departures halted on popular walking trail and warnings issued for west coast towns as fires ignited by dry lightning remain out of control

Fire crews are responding on the ground and in the air to 17 incidents on Tasmania’s west coast, with the Overland Track still closed after a dry lightning strike ignited a fire on Monday.

Approximately 100 walkers scheduled to depart on Wednesday were stopped from embarking on the multi-day track in Tasmania’s world heritage wilderness area, authorities said, with the trail closed for three days.

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