Firefighters contain Cape Otway bushfire that threatened hundreds of campers

Firefighters have managed to contain a bushfire in Cape Otway in Victoria’s south west that stranded about 100 campers and forced the evacuation of more than 100 others.

The Birregurra CFA crew battling bush fires on Wednesday morning near Apollo Bay, close to the Otway National Park. Picture: Facebook / CFA Birregurra

Firefighters have contained a bushfire in Cape Otway in Vic­­toria’s southwest that stranded about 100 campers and forced the evacuation of more than 100 other people.

More than 1000 people were sent bushfire alerts in the early hours of Wednesday after a blaze along Blanket Bay Road in Cape Otway threatened locals and campers in the area.

About 140 campers were evacuated at about 2 or 3am, State Control Centre spokesperson Luke Heagerty said. However about 100 campers at the Blanket Bay Campground were unable to leave because Blanket Bay Road, which was impacted by the fire, is the only road in and out of the area.

The bushfire burned through 14 hectares of land overnight. Picture: Facebook / CFA Birregurra

Mr Heagerty said CFA crews were sent to the Blanket Bay Campground last night to reassure the campers.

“There was no safe way, particularly at night, to move them anywhere, and the fire wasn’t moving particularly quickly; they were a fair distance from where the fire itself was,” he said.

“The greater risk would have been if they had tried to move them.”

More than 100 firefighters worked to battle the fire through the night, with extra crews joining on Wednesday morning.

As of about 8.30am on Wednesday, firefighters had managed to control the blaze, which had burnt through about 14ha of land.

Firefighters managed to control the blaze at about 8.30am on Wednesday morning. Picture: Facebook / CFA Birregurra

However, a “watch and act” message remained in place for Cape Otway, Glenaire and Hordern Vale on Wednesday afternoon.

“The situation can change at any time,” VicEmergency SAID. “You must monitor conditions and be ready to act.”

A relief centre was established at the Apollo Bay Community Hall in Apollo Bay.

On Wednesday afternoon, the 100 campers were escorted out of the Blanket Bay Campground, a spokesperson from the Colac Incident Control Centre confirmed.

140 campers were evacuated, while 100 were unable to leave their campsite. Picture: Facebook / CFA Birregurra

Mr Heagerty praised the work of fire crews overnight and said they would continue to work to reduce any risk of the fire flaring up. “The crews did a great job of prioritising the safety of campers and people who were in the area,” he said. “It is a challenging spot … winds can be pretty strong along those coastal areas so the crews will continue working on making sure the fire is fully extinguished.”

Mr Heagerty advised campers to stay up to date with fire danger ratings and to make sure they had phone coverage or a radio to ensure they could keep informed of warnings.

The Cape Otway fire comes after a bushfire in the Grampians in Victoria’s west was contained on Monday, nearly three weeks after it was ignited by lightning.

The Grampians fire burned through more than 76,000ha, destroyed four homes and killed hundreds of livestock.