Lexton firefighters’ close calls as raging blaze forced town’s evacuation
Brave firefighters have battled out-of-control blazes across Victoria for several days. But Saturday night brought some relief to residents as a number of emergency warnings were downgraded.
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Out-of-control bushfires in East Gippsland have been downgraded to watch and act warning levels.
Emergency warnings that were in place on Saturday afternoon were downgraded that night about 10pm.
The watch and act warning was in place for fires at Marthavale-Barmouth Spur and Tambo Crossing.
The east Gippsland fire front has been active for more than a month after Code Red level fire danger conditions on November 21 – including extreme heat and strong winds – fanned the inferno .
“The weather has calmed down a lot since yesterday but those fires are still going,” a CFA spokeswoman said on Saturday.
“Crews will be continuing to try and suppress them.”
Almost 430 crew from both the CFA and Forest Fire Management Victoria were on the ground on Saturday in Gippsland in a desperate bid to keep the blaze within containment lines.
There was relief in Central Victoria on Saturday evening, as a fire that threatened homes in Lexton on Friday night was further downgraded.
Residents were evacuated on Friday night, with more than 300 firefighters working through the night to protect property. No homes were lost in the fire. On Saturday night it was still out of control but no longer threatened any communities.
A watch and act warning was in place for a fire northwest of Portland on Saturday night.
The fire at Mount Deception was travelling in a northerly direction towards Lyons.
Ricky Wright, 54, said he felt a flood of relief driving into Lexton on Saturday morning and finding his home still standing.
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“My guts is just starting to undo itself, slowly, little by little,” Mr Wright told the Sunday Herald Sun.
“That’s the closest I’ve ever come to anything like that.”
Mr Wright said it was an anxious wait overnight, with no sleep.
“When you do see something like that it does look like it’s on the back door,” he said. “The glow was a mile in the sky. Ugly.”
“It would have been very disappointing to come home to (ruins) — it’s a 120-year-old house,” he said. “It would have been a shame actually, to see that go.“
The flames came about 2km from the Lexton township.
Authorities were worried unpredictable winds would fuel the flames, pushing them into town.
“I don’t think anyone really knew (what was happening),” Mr Wright said.
“It was all going that way towards Beaufort … and within the space 20 minutes, half an hour, it all just turned around was really nasty.
“Fire trucks just started pulling up down the road, one after the other.”
He said one family was thought to have lost 4000 sheep but no houses or sheds were thought to have been lost.
“(I was) hoping to god that this would be here today, and everyone else,” he said.
“It’s turned out pretty positive.”
A CFA spokeswoman said on Saturday conditions had “eased” during the night.
“There was a little bit of drama out there overnight,” the spokeswoman said. “There was an evacuation warning sent out but that has been lifted to watch and act.
“Conditions have eased … (but) it is still going and not yet contained.”
As of Saturday night, no structures have been lost at this stage.
Thick smoke blanketed the area on Saturday morning with a local wind farm all but disappearing into the haze.
The fire started about 4.15pm on Friday at Mount Lonarch, burning several kilometres through bush.
A late-night wind change Friday night put Lexton under threat.
An eerie silence swept through Learmonth as fires burned out of control across the district.
LEXTON FIRE UPDATE- The wind change is now moving the fire in a south westerly direction.
— Jordy Wright (@jordy_wright) December 20, 2019
Residents of Lexton have now been told to evacuate with the fire threatening homes and lives. @WINNews_Bal pic.twitter.com/UNHS75KUiw
About 20 locals gathered at the town’s football netball club on Friday night after flames threatened homes in the 200-strong township of Lexton, about 30kms away.
Makeshift beds were set up on the clubhouse floor for evacuated residents, while others slept in their cars.
Many were still wide awake in the early hours of Saturday morning, fearing for the homes.
Residents were evacuated on Friday afternoon after a wind change threatened to turn flames back on the town.
Cheryl King, 67, fled her home of 14 years after fires at Lexton spread dangerously close.
“We could see the glow (of fire),” Ms King said. “From my backyard I could see the blue and red (lights) and then all of a sudden there was about 14 or 16 (trucks).”
“It’s pretty stressful getting pulled out of your home.”
Ms King, who lives on a five-acre property, said she last night had no idea how far the flames were from her home.
“With fire, you can’t tell how far away it is,” she said.
The retired dog trainer said she was alerted to the oncoming blaze about 4.30pm after her son phoned from NSW.
“He said ‘hi mum, what’s happening in Lexton?’” Ms King said. “Then: ‘I think you’ll be evacuating.’”
She said she packed her four pet poodles and a box of valuables into the back of her car and headed for safety.
Another woman said she arrived home from work to policemen at her door.
Residents in nearby Waubra, Waterloo, Mount Lonarch and Chute were downgraded to watch and act about 1.30am.
BRAVE FIREYS’ FIGHT
Locals protecting locals — that’s how the fireys who helped save Lexton from an inferno see their role.
The Lexton Fire Brigade is made up entirely of people who live in the area and care for it deeply.
And it took just 11 minutes for them all to be ready to fight the fire from the time their pagers went off.
“We are all farmers or retired. Sometimes if there is a big fire, some former Lexton people living in Ballart join us,” Terry Brown told the Sunday Herald Sun.
Knowing each other all so well was a big advantage, he said.
“You know what each other can do and everyone had a job … There is no one who wants to be boss, you just get in and get it done”.
That took nine hours yesterday, with the crew up all night until they managed to get the fire under control so no homes were lost.
Hundreds, possibly thousands of sheep, were killed and some sheds destroyed — but the town and the brigade came through unscathed.
But there were a few close calls.
“The fire chased us out of a few paddocks … It was an horrendous night really, the wind was very bad,” Mr Brown said.
He has already lost count of the fires they have attended this season – and fears the worst is yet to come.
“We’re s---ting bricks actually,” Mr Brown said.
The loss of two volunteer firefighters in NSW this week brought home the danger that always existed.
“Each time you go out, you know what the possibilities are,” he said.
ALLEGED FIREBUG ARRESTED
A 47-year-old Roxburgh Park man has been arrested and charged for allegedly lighting three grass fires in Roxburgh Park and Craigieburn on Friday night.
He has been charged with 11 charges, including intentionally causing bushfire and criminal damage by fire.
The CFA extinguished the three fires and no properties were damaged.
The first fire occurred at the corner of James Mirams Drv and Bridgewater Rd in Roxburgh Park about 3.35am.
The second fire occurred at the corner of Heyfield and Statesman drives in Roxburgh Park about 3.55am.
The third fire occurred at the corner of Lakes Drv and Waterford Ave in Craigieburn about 4.15am.
HOMES DESTROYED AFTER EXPLOSION
Two homes were destroyed at Seaford on the Mornington Peninsula after a gas bottle exploded, starting a fire.
Twenty-three people were taken to hospital as a result. None were seriously hurt.
Authorities will investigate if the explosion was connected to the extreme heat which hit the state yesterday.
Melbourne sweltered through one of its hottest December days since records began.
Thick haze descended across the city as a north-easterly wind carried smoke from the fatal NSW bushfires.
Authorities warned that air quality was rated as “hazardous” in parts of the state with East Gippsland — where bushfires have been burning for the past month — the worst hit area.
Victorian Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said firefighters had done “a fantastic job”, rounding up dozens of fires which had sparked across the state. Several watch and act alerts were issued.
Thick haze descended on Melbourne late Friday morning, with a north-easterly wind carrying smoke from the massive NSW bushfires into the city.
The Bureau of Meteorology Victoria said smoke from NSW had drifted down to Melbourne.
“Smoke has travelled a long way south from the bushfires currently impacting eastern NSW,” he said.
“Northerly winds have dragged the smoke over the divide, as far as Melbourne.”
East Gippsland, where fire crews have been battling several blazes since November, was experiencing “very poor” to “hazardous” airconditions, according to the Environmental Protection Authority.
AirWatch has listed the Brimbank and Frankston areas as having reduced air quality, with Frankston recording an air quality index of 53. Chelsea’s air quality was 75, while Mildura measured 62.
An AQI from 51 to 100 is classed as “moderate” — which means it is acceptable, but some pollutants could present a moderate health risk to some people.
Chief health officer Dr Brett Sutton had warned people may suffer from “heat hangovers” over the weekend.
He told people to dress lightly, drink plenty of water and use airconditioning in their homes.
Dr Sutton said information from Ambulance Victoria and hospitals across the state indicated there had been no significant heat-related illnesses or injuries.
