Parks closed: 1000 Steps, Sherbrooke Forest, Dandenong Ranges National Park

A man has taken his baby into treacherous conditions at the Dandenong Ranges’ 1000 Steps, flouting closures to clamber over trees.

A woman who walked deep into Sherbrooke Forest and needed to be rescued is among the “selfish” hikers who ignored warnings to stay away from the Dandenong Ranges.

A woman who visited Sherbrooke Forest had to be saved by emergency services, while another man with a toddler strapped to his chest boasted on social media about defying a park closure.

In the footage, the man can be seen scrambling over fallen trees with a group of friends, ducking under huge branches that had blocked the track.

Hundreds are still without power and clean-up crews have been working to clean up and help residents since the freak weather incident blew through on Wednesday, June 9.

Emergency crews rescuing a walker from Sherbrooke Forest.

Emergency workers had to cut their way into the forest for the rescue.

Parks Victoria has closed many Dandenong Ranges national parks and gardens across affected hills areas including popular spots Ferntree Gully Picnic Ground, 1000 Steps, One Tree Hill Picnic Ground, Sherbrooke Picnic Ground, Olinda Falls Picnic Ground, O’Donohues Picnic Ground, Kalorama Park and Black Hill Reserve.

A man ducks under a fallen tree with his baby on the closed 1000 Steps walk.

In a social media post, a local firefighter expressed his frustration after rescue crews were called to help Ambulance Victoria extract an injured woman from Sherbrooke Forest on Sunday afternoon.

This comes after authorities warned Melburnians heading out for “fresh air”, many parks were closed, and with wet and windy weather expected, there was a risk of trees falling.

On a Facebook post to spread awareness, the firefighter said paramedics, CFA firefighters and SES, spent two and a half hours getting in and chainsawing an exit route, to transport a person to nearest hospital.

He said the person who needed to be rescued had climbed “through, over, under and around” dozens of massive fallen mountain.

The firefighter said stretches of the track – up to 100m – were impassable and required walking “well off-track” to get around.

Houses were crushed by the storms nearly a fortnight ago. Picture: Wayne Taylor

“Throughout, there are widow makers, hang-ups, killer trees just waiting to drop,” the post said.

“You won’t even hear a limb coming, you’ll simply be gone, crushed.”

He said on that one track, rescue teams passed 20 to 30 other people, walking in groups.

“Some with toddlers, for Pete’s sake. One group with a dog. All just having a great old time, risking their lives and those of the people who have to go in there and drag them out,” the post said.

While another man, with a toddler strapped to his chest, and a mate in tow, says the park is closed but, “we’re going in anyway, no one’s going to stop us”.

One person commented on the post and said: “Just selfish and pig headed. I’ll never stop being amazed at how self-entitled people can be. Awesome work by you and your colleagues.”

While others called the perpetrators “idiots” and said these people should be fined, have to pay for the rescue bill and were disgusted at how emergency service worker lives had been put at risk.

A family walks past the huge root ball of a collapsed tree near their Kalorama property. Picture: Jason Edwards

Upper Ferntree Gully CFA captain Peter Smith said the storm hadn’t deterred people visiting the 1000 Steps with cars parked either side of the Mt Dandenong Tourist Rd until after dark.

He said despite police road blocks, cyclists were also getting through.

“The national park is officially closed and authorities have tried to put gates up to keep people out but it’s just too big an area,” Mr Smith said.

“There are cars parked up the tourist road and people are crawling under the locked gates to get in.”

He said families, with children, were seen going into locked areas.

Mr Smith said trees had fallen over the two main tracks at the 1000 Steps – the Kokoda Memorial and Lyrebird – so he suspected many were walking into very dangerous territory.

“Bike riders are up there as well, since day one,” he said.

“We saw them yesterday while driving up to Kalorama.”

Yarra Ranges Mayor Fiona McAllister encouraged those wanting to visit to be cautious and do their research.

Workers clear storm debris in the Dandenong Ranges. Picture: Jason Edwards

Defence personnel delivering generators to households in Olinda, which remain without power after the storm. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

“I urge people to be cautious,” Cr McAllister said.

She said the areas safe to visit were Upwey, Tecoma and Belgrave.

“We’ve had a lovely outpouring of support, and supporting local businesses will be an important part of our recovery.

“But other areas are not safe. We have trees that are still standing that need to be removed and this community is dealing with a disaster.”

She said people needed to do their research before visiting.

“We will put information on the council’s website about where they can go and where they should stay away from,” Cr McAllister said.

“If you really want to support the community you can donate either to the Dandenong Ranges Emergency Relief or you can shop online.”