Bushfires: mercy voyage to take 1000 to safety

Almost a quarter of the 4000 people stranded in Mallacoota in Victoria’s fire-ravaged East Gippsland region will be evacuated.

Commander Scott Houlihan of HMAS Choules talks to the hundreds gathered at a town hall meeting in Mallacoota about evacuation on the ship. Picture: David Caird

Almost a quarter of the 4000 people­ stranded in Mallacoota in Victoria’s fire-ravaged East Gippsland region will be evacuated in an unprecedented mercy mission before­ dangerous fire weather return­s on Saturday.

Navy vessel HMAS Choules was scheduled to depart with 800 passengers at 7am on Friday, and more vulnerable evacuees were being taken out by helicopter and on smaller boats.

Four public meetings were held in the town at two-hour intervals on Thursday afternoon, where prospective evacuees were told that those who were sick or injured, children, vulnerable people and those wishing to leave would be prioritised, “in that order”.

People sobbed and hugged under a blanket of thick smoke as they tried to decide what to do.

Alison Cukier and Craig Thorpe, from Montmorency in Melbourne’s northeast, opted to evacuate. “We have got a 10-year-old child and we have to get back to work,” Ms Cukier said.

“When you have kids here you want to get out for health reasons.”

Representatives from Victoria Police, the Australian Defence Force and the Country Fire Authority addressed the meetings, stressing that evacuation was not compulsory.

When one of the officials said family pets would be allowed but people should consider how their animals would cope with the journey, one woman broke down and had to be comforted by her partner.

Mallacoota’s population of 1063 typically rises to about 8000 at the height of summer, with many of the 4000 stranded in the town having gone there on holiday.

Authorities told those in the town road access was expected to remain cut off for “some weeks”.

ADF commander of the East Gippsland fires joint taskforce Brigadier Doug Laidlaw said people­ were signing up to be evacuated at the meetings on Thursday afternoon, with the ADF then making determinations about who to evacuate.

A medical team from HMAS Choules disembarks from a Navy MRH-90 Taipan off Mallacoota to help treat the injured.

It is expected two trips will be needed to evacuate all those wishing­ to leave Mallacoota, with HMAS Choules set to return on Sunday morning, and a third journey possible if required.

Children younger than five and those who were not able-bodied have been told they will have to be evacuated by air, with the 17-20-hour journey on HMAS Choules considered too arduous for vulnerable passengers.

The ship has a few hundred beds but many of the evacuees will spend the voyage sitting on the deck for long periods.

“Once people have made their decisions about what they are seeking in terms of relocation, and priorities have been established, the current plan would see loading commence at first light tomorrow (Friday),” Brigadier Laidlaw said.

“We are transferring personnel from shore to ship at 7am tomorrow­. An hour or so later, hopefully, the vessel will be in a position to sail.”

Brigadier Laidlaw said the ­Australian Defence Force intended to take evacuees to a Victorian port, but was yet to determine whether it would be Port Welshpool in South Gippsland or Westernport on the Mornington Peninsula, from where passengers would be taken by bus to other locations.

“As we understand more about the weather from the middle of this afternoon, a decision will be made as to whether that will be to Port Welshpool or Westernport,” he said.

Air evacuations on Thursday were hampered by thick smoke, which lifted about 3pm, allowing two Black Hawk helicopters to ­depart Bairnsdale for Mallacoota with 30 Victoria Police members and Red Cross personnel on board.

Federal member for Gippsland Darren Chester said the helicopters would evacuate sick and vulnerab­le people, as well as delivering much-needed supplies.

“We will have additional heavy lift helicopters in the region helping out from tomorrow to replenish supplies in isolated areas,” Mr Chester said.

Two Chinook helicopters had also arrived from Townsville.

Brigadier Laidlaw said the ADF-Victoria Police taskforce would consult with people staying in Mallacoota about their needs, with some shipments of water, food and fuel having already arrive­d and others on the way.

Melbourne man Jake Giuliano, 26, and his wife, Laura, are among many holidaymakers who plan to remain in Mallacoota despite opportuni­ties to evacuate, pre­ferrin­g to be able to return to Melbourne with their car and boat when the road eventually reopens.

“Because the shops still have food and more is coming in, and also because there is water for us, we are going to wait until the roads open,” Mr Giuliano said.

“We don’t feel like we are in any immediate danger for the time being, other than the horrible air quality.

“We can get back into the boat if the fire comes back through.”

Mr Giuliano and his family are camped at a Mallacoota caravan park, having spent almost 24 hours in their boat on the lake seeking refuge on Monday and Tuesday.

About 70 homes are believed to have been lost in Mallacoota, with the extent of property losses in East Gippsland yet to be confirmed­ by authorities.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andre­ws urged people wishing to donate to fire-affected commun­ities to do so via the official Bendigo Bank appeal, online or at any bank branch.