Otways region driest since Millennium Drought as fire warning issued for Geelong

A rainfall deficit has left the region in an incredibly vulnerable situation after 19 months of dryness, with a warning issued for Geelong on Thursday.

A fire at Cape Otway caused evacuations in January of both the Senior Citizens in Whelan Street and the Youth Club in Moore Street. Source: Facebook Apollo Bay Fire & Rescue's Post

The Otway Ranges have been left in one of their most vulnerable situations since the Millennium Drought after 19 months of dryness, with hot weather and a lightning storm threatening to reignite the region.

The chief officer of Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic), Chris Hardman, said the dryness has been caused by a rainfall deficit which you would have to go back to 1983 to get “anywhere close to what we’re seeing this year”.

It comes as an extreme fire danger warning was issued on Thursday by the Country Fire Authority (CFA), with a total fire ban in place for the North Central, South West and Central fire regions, which includes Geelong and surrounding regions.

The Otway Ranges have been left as dry as they have been since the Millennium Drought. Picture: Mark Wilson

CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan warned the conditions would make it difficult to suppress a fire if one starts.

“There is potential for dry lightning to come with the thunderstorms, and although we are anticipating rainfall to follow them, there is still a risk of strikes causing new fire starts,” he said.

Dry lightning is the “worst type of storm” and can cause a huge amount of fires with dangerous winds spreading them rapidly, according to Mr Hardman.

“Every time we get a lightning storm come through we put aircraft up and we go looking for those lightning strikes because the quicker we can protect them, the quicker we can suppress them.”

An abandoned campfire caused bushfires in early January that led to the evacuation of over 100 campers and holiday-makers, with a police investigation launched.

Mr Hardman said that unattended campfires are a particular issue in the Otways “because you just need to blast the wind and it can start a bushfire”. He said that campers should put their fires out with at least 10 litres of water to help prevent bushfires.

Apollo Bay fires Forest Fire Management back burning to contain the fire, reading the wind Picture: Mark Wilson

The fires are extinguished in the Otways, however FFMVic will continue to monitor the region.

Mr Hardman said they can “pop up again” during windy dry conditions due to things like leaves or peat continuing to burn undetected.

He thanked FFMVic and CFA staff and volunteers, calling their work on the bushfires “phenomenal”.

“Some of the work they can do on township protection and asset protection is second to none,” he said.

The Surf Coast Council responded to Thursday’s danger warning with kindergartens closed in Lorne, Anglesea, and a preschool in Jan Juc for the day.

Visitor information centres will also be closed and the management of some services restricted to before 10am.

“We understand there will be inconvenience for some people as a result of these changes, but we are clear that the safety of the community and our staff is always our number one priority,” said the Council’s general manager of community life Damian Waight.

Fires have burnt more than 230,000ha of land across Victoria so far this season, the vast majority of which was in the Little Desert and Grampians fires.

Originally published as Otways region driest since Millennium Drought as fire warning issued for Geelong