Omeo under threat for second time in a week
For the second time in a week Omeo has come under threat, and while residents are weary — they are ready to “fight like hell” for their historic town.
VIC News
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As their phones dinged with emergency messages telling them to leave, residents in the historic town of Omeo bunkered down.
“We’ll stay, we’ll fight,” Sandi Beltrame said.
Ms Beltrame and her husband Lou have run the Omeo Caravan Park for 12 years.
“It’s our livelihood. It’s our business,” Ms Beltrame said.
“When I see red flames coming down the hill, I’ll put on my fire gear and fight like hell.”
Authorities on Thursday warned “the safest option” was to leave with four fires circling around the tiny East Gippsland town.
It is the second time in a week the community has come under threat.
Laura Appleby and Chris Cahill spent yesterday preparing their property, filling gutters with water and wrapping building materials around the house to prevent an ember attack.
Their wheelie bin and any buckets they could find were also filled with water and placed around the property to extinguish any spot fires.
“We are just trying to do everything we can to protect the property,” Ms Appleby, 26, said.
In nearby Benambra, Ben Buckley, 83, and his daughter, Janelle, also planned to stay and defend their home.
They enacted their fire survival plan, spraying water across a hangar next to the house in an attempt to protect his planes parked inside.
“I don’t think the front is going to come in, but we’ll have spot fires so we have to be ready to fight,” Ms Buckley, 46, said.
Dozens of Omeo residents were evacuated by helicopter on Saturday as a fire bored down on the community.
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But an 11th-hour change in wind direction saved the town from the inferno when it was just 4km away.
The Beltrame’s caravan park has been booked out with emergency services workers, who have been working around the clock to strengthen containment lines in the area ahead of today’s dangerous fire conditions.
COUPLE FEAR FOR HORSE
Every time Bernie and Joy Rossi pack their car to evacuate their Nowa Nowa home, there is one thing that tugs at their heart strings.
The couple rescued Dusty, a 30-year-old Appaloosa cross, five months ago and don’t have a horse float to transport him.
Leaving him behind is hard, but staying is not an option, Ms Rossi said.
“It’s horrific (leaving Dusty). But there are just too many trees for us to stay here and defend. The fire could come over the treetops and we wouldn’t be able to stop it,” she said.
The couple yesterday dragged in their furniture, packed their car and watered the dry grass surrounding their 0.6ha property ahead of today’s heightened bushfire risk.
“The plan is to leave. We would take Dusty with us if we could,” Mr Rossi said.
Authorities warn fire conditions in East Gippsland will be “very dangerous” today. Residents and holiday-makers were urged to leave yesterday.
Flames came less than 2km from the Nowa Nowa General Store during the last flare-up.
Owners Susan and Greg Huggins took shelter in the store with their
family, sleeping in two-hour shifts, as strike teams gathered outside
to defend the town.
After hours of deliberation, the family made the choice to stay.
“We won’t be heroes,” said Ms Huggins.
“At the first sight of problems, we will go.”