Montrose bushfire destroys home, as other properties damaged
Firefighters are continuing to battle an out-of-control bushfire just 33km from Melbourne’s CBD, with an estimated 33ha already torched.
A home has been lost and another significantly damaged after a bushfire broke out in Melbourne’s outer east on Saturday night.
The blaze started near Dr Ken Leversha Reserve in Montrose, 33km from Melbourne’s CBD.
Some 200 firefighters and helicopter water bombers tackled the fire, with the Country Fire Authority estimating 33ha were burnt.
Twenty five residents were evacuated to a relief centre after an emergency warning was put in place for Montrose and Kilsyth.
Firefighters brought the fire under control just before 1pm on Sunday, downgrading the emergency alert.
CFA incident controller Bernard Barbetti on Sunday said the fire was unlikely to spread any more, but crews were expected to be working on it for the rest of the week.
“It’s a long unburnt area; any dry and dead trees that are on fire will stay on fire,” he said.
“We’ll be working on this fire for the rest of the week. Heavy fuel is still burning.”
Residents were told it was safe to return on Sunday afternoon, but were urged to remain cautious as trees continued to burn within containment lines.
The CFA said they believed they had the fire under control late on Saturday night before it unexpectedly changed direction.
“It made a significant run about midnight. We had a downburst. We thought we had the fire under control, but it moved the fire north,” Mr Barbetti told the ABC.
“Unfortunately we’ve lost one house.”
A Montrose mother recounted fleeing with her children on Saturday night, returning home on Sunday to a torched backyard.
Terry Moyle told the Herald Sun she saw flames immediately behind her house on Crestview Close, which borders Dr Ken Leversha Reserve.
“I walked up to the top of the driveway and I saw the flames right there behind the house,” she said.
“You could feel the heat and see the sparks from the home.”
Ms Moyle’s neighbour’s property was also damaged in the fire, but the rest of the street escaped largely unharmed.
“I’m really shocked that every house is OK. The firefighters were remarkable,” she said.
The blaze follows heatwave conditions in southeast Australia, with Melbourne reaching the mid-30s on Saturday.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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