At least nine properties lost in Gippsland as merging fires rage near Dargo
Rain has helped firefighters stop a bushfire from threatening Dargo and slow down two merging out-of-control blazes northwest from the town. Earlier, a grassfire in Bangholme threatened lives and homes before being contained as fires continue to rage across the state’s east. LATEST PHOTOS, VIDEO
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Rain has helped firefighters stop a bushfire from threatening Dargo and slow down two merging out-of-control blazes northwest from the town.
Firefighters have been able to stop the progress of the bushfire within 1.6km of the town, about 85km northwest of Bairnsdale, which has been downgraded to a watch and act message.
The news comes as firefighters and locals battle major blazes in other parts of Gippsland, including Bunyip in West Gippsland, where at least seven properties have been razed, Yinnar South, near Morwell, where at least two structures have been destroyed, and the high country community of Licola.
For the most up-to-date fire information, go to emergency.vic.gov.au
FULL LIST OF TUESDAY SCHOOL CLOSURES
A watch and act message is now in place for residents of Billabong, Black Snake Creek, Budgee Budgee, Cowa, Crooked River, Dargo, Gibbs, Hawkhurst, Howittville, Maguires, Miowera, Peter the Swede, Shepherdson, Talbotville, Waterford, Winchester and Wongungarra for the three fires.
Despite cooler temperatures, the fire emergency is far from over!! View from Mount Hotham #VicFires pic.twitter.com/wvdlyoF0Ro
— Victorian Weather (@vicwx) March 4, 2019
The two merging fires, about 20km northwest of Drago, continue to burn towards each other but progress has slowed significantly in the rain.
Residents are urged to stay close to a building they can shelter in as conditions can change suddenly.
Spot fires have not been seen in the township but are occurring on the Dargo Rd, the main road out of town.
There is a spot fire located on Moroka Junction Track, southwest of the main fire, 4.3 km northwest of Shepherdson, which is actively burning.
Earlier, one of the fires hit the tiny locality of Howittville, northwest of Dargo, and was threatening the Winchester area.
Emergency Warning issued for #Billabong, Black Snake Creek, #Budgee Budgee, #Cowa, Crooked River, #Dargo, Gibbs, #Hawkhurst, #Howittville, #Maguires, #Miowera, Peter the Swede, #Shepherdson, #Talbotville, #Waterford, #Winchester, #Wongungarra.https://t.co/kgWqLWNbcM #vicfires pic.twitter.com/nFKagz1ij1
— CFA Updates (@CFA_Updates) March 4, 2019
Leanne Estcourt at the Dargo Hotel earlier said residents were fighting to save their properties as the fire loomed close to town.
“It’s taken off again and spot fires have cut off the way out of town and everyone has rushed out to their properties,” she told the Herald Sun.
“It’s like it’s trying to surround us.”
She said she could see nothing but smoke, with no ember attack at this stage.
“But if we get an easterly wind, we’ll get embers,” she said.
The #Himawari satellite shows the growth of plumes associated with fires in the Gippsland high country - towards the end of the loop lightning is also evident as the plumes grow to a height of approximately 35,000ft. https://t.co/F71arc6xjX #vicfires pic.twitter.com/tgxkd1afgx
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) March 4, 2019
Fires in the Dargo area had burned more than 9500ha this afternoon, up dramatically from 4500ha early this morning.
Fire-bombing aircraft are active in the area.
An additional watch and act warning issued for communities near Dargo including Angusvale, Budgee Budgee, Castleburn, Cobbannah, Iguana Creek, Merrijig, Moornapa, Ryans, Tabberabbera, The Swamp, Treasures has been downgraded to an advice message.
An Emergency Warning has been reissued in the past 10 minutes for the bushfire near Dargo in the High Country, but all the fires here have been downgraded to Watch & Act. @nathantemp7 #7News pic.twitter.com/LpsgDNwJfD
— 7 News Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) March 4, 2019
The Bangholme blaze started near Harwood Rd and Dandenong-Frankston Rd in Bangholme.
Plumes of smoke could be seen from the EastLink freeway as fire crews responded to the fire.
The grassfire is now under control. An advice message remained in place as of 8pm.
Late on Monday evening fire crews continued to battle 27 fires burning across the state with six Watch and Act messages in place.
The massive Bunyip bushfire has now ravaged 14,400ha, while the Licola fire has expanded to more than 17,100ha, up from about 14,000ha this morning.
The Yinnar South fire, which was the subject of an emergency warning earlier today, has now razed almost 1840ha, up from 1400ha this morning.
This is what firefighters faced on the ground in Garfield North near #Bunyip yesterday, where MFB strike teams managed to save two homes and two granny flats from the #Vicfires. We're working closely with @CFA_Updates & @FFMVic crews to protect assets in the area @vicemergency pic.twitter.com/V2CCvoznFM
— MFB (@MFB_NEWS) March 4, 2019
As of 4pm, more than 200 firefighters and multiple aircraft are still trying to bring the bushfire under control at Morwell National Park.
A converted dump truck nicknamed ‘Priscilla Queen of the Fire Line’ is helping fight the fire.
Owner and driver Cameron Gunn designed it last September to tackle plantation fires. It holds 40,000 litres of water and is the only one of its kind in Australia.
The purpose-built truck can drive along steep terrain and was used to hose down flames along the fire’s edge this afternoon.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Michael Efron earlier said the Dargo fire had created giant pyro-cumulonimbus clouds, towering thunder clouds that had been generated by the heat of the fires.
He said weather conditions in the high country were likely to exacerbate the fire situation until after the arrival of a cool change early Wednesday morning that will reduce the temperature dramatically and may deliver snow flurries to places like Mount Baw Baw.
“Around the Gippsland high country, we have real strong north to north-westerly winds that are aiding the development of those fires,” he told the Herald Sun.
“Combined with quite warm and unstable conditions, those fires are growing and we are seeing lightning being generated.
“Overnight we’ll see a drop in temperature, which might assist (firefighters) a little, but we’re still going to see that instability persisting, so still not great conditions out there tomorrow to control those fires.”
The storms in the Dargo area would produce very little rain, erratic and gusty winds and lightning from the storms could start new fires, Mr Efron said.
It may be cold enough following the change for snow flurries at Mt Baw Baw on Wednesday, he said.
A strong, gusty, westerly/southwesterly change will extend from the south-west of #Victoria tomorrow (Tue), bringing a significant temperature drop—down to high teens in the south; low 20s in the north. Snow may even fall on the higher peaks. Forecasts at https://t.co/YrCLpyIix9. pic.twitter.com/FcNV9qRFcA
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) March 4, 2019
An emergency warning has been lifted for now on the fire at Yinnar South, 160km east of Melbourne, which has spread across 1400ha, where two structures so far have been destroyed.
A series of community meetings were held today at:
• Drouin — 11am, Drouin Cricket Club, Bellbird Park, 271 Settlement Rd, Drouin
• Pakenham — 1pm, Cardinia Cultural Centre, 40 Lakeside Blvd, Pakenham
• Koo Wee Rup — 3pm, Koo Wee Rup Bowls Club, Cochrane Park, Rossiter Rd, Koo Wee Rup
RESIDENTS EVACUATE WITH WHAT THEY COULD
Pam Schingler fled her Bunyip home with her husband’s ashes, her wedding photo album and her 11-year-old parrot Oscar.
Ms Schingler has limited mobility and was evacuated with the help of her daughter Kaye Schingler and Kaye’s fiancee Glenn Dixon, who all spent last night at the Drouin relief centre.
She said it was the first time a fire had come so close to reaching her house.
The moment she knew she was in danger was when black ash started raining down on her property.
“There were lots of bits of black falling down all over the lawn,” she said.
“The fire was on its way. I got a bit stressed out. You quickly throw a few things together and just think you’ve got to go. You can’t worry about material things.”
She described the sky as having an eerie glow.
“It was grey with bits of bright orange. Even on Black Saturday it didn’t get that bad.”
Fellow Bunyip residents Barb and James Mackay and their six children fled to the relief centre on Saturday afternoon.
They have been nervously monitoring the VicEmergency app and estimate the fire was within a kilometre of their house.
“If it had jumped the freeway we would have been in a bit of trouble,” Ms Mackay said.
“But it’s worrying. You can see it growing and getting closer. The firefighters have done an awesome job containing it that side of the freeway.”
The family moved to Bunyip six weeks before Black Saturday but their home was not damaged that day, and this is the first time they have had to evacuate.
ASSESSING THE DAMAGE
Residents in Garfield North were this morning assessing the damage after fire swept through destroying fences and sheds.
A number of sheds remained smouldering near Sanders Rd, with neighbours offering each other coffee, water and other support amid power outages.
The blaze came within metres of Amanda Porter and Damien Cartwright’s Forest View Thoroughbred property in Bunyip North.
Ms Porter said lightning started the fire behind their property on Friday, marking the start of a three-day battle to save their home.
Mr Cartwright last night stood guard at the property’s front fence with a bucket and shovel. He threw three tubs of water on the flames as they encroached on the nature strip.
This morning the relieved couple discovered the fire had gone no further.
“It started directly out the back with lightning strikes,” Ms Porter said.
“It quickly spread. All of Friday night that whole back mountain was on fire, glow red, with grass fires spreading throughout the paddocks.
“We weren’t worried about the house, just the horses.”
Ms Porter said the stress of defending the property had taken its toll.
“I was physically sick yesterday,” she said.
“I thought it was the smoke but it’s just a massive knot in your stomach. You have to go inside for 5-10 minutes, not look, calm down and compose yourself.
“The firebombing and the firefighters are amazing. I can’t say enough praise for those guys.”
Neighbour Maya Norlyng laughed this morning when she collected singed mail from her letterbox.
“I hope it’s a bill,” she joked.
While an IGA catalogue remained untouched, tickets to a Bryan Adam’s concert — a gift for her husband Peter — was burnt at one end.
“I will have to send it to them (Ticketek) and ask if they will still work if they are burnt.”
FIRE ‘DEJA VU’ FOR RESIDENTS
Residents have described the raging bushfire as a “dragon in the forest that breathes fire” as some fled and others defended their homes.
Evacuation centres were packed after fire warnings were issued, urging residents in some of the areas to leave as it was too risky to stay and confront the fire front.
Children, the elderly and pregnant women were among those who hastily packed their bags and fled the flames that continue to wipe out large swathes of land and homes.
Andrew Clarke, owner of Jinks Creek Winery on Tonimbuk Rd, said he and his wife, Abigail, found out they’d lost their property by watching the TV news.
“We’ve lost our livelihood, we’ve lost horses, we’ve lost our whole vineyard, we’ve lost our whole cellar door,” he told the Herald Sun.
“Everything we’ve worked for our entire life, it’s all gone in a couple of hours. I’m too scared to go back to look at it.”
Ruth McGowan was preparing to stay and defend her home, between Labertouche and Jindivick, alongside husband Paul.
Ms McGowan, who served as Baw Baw Shire mayor during the Black Saturday bushfires, said it was like “deja vu” watching firefighting aircraft tackle the blaze from above.
“It’s like facing a dragon — a dragon in the forest that breathes fire,” she said.
“You’ve got to be prepared and if you’re not, you’ve got to go. A lot of people have, and that’s a good thing. People have learnt from Black Saturday. I’m watching plumes of smoke come up. It’s quite eerie.”
Herald Sun cartoonist Mark Knight, who defended his house during the Black Saturday bushfires, was again forced to tackle the raging Bunyip inferno near his property.
His house avoided the path of destruction once again, but he and other locals were questioning where the CFA and DSE had been as no units were seen in the area near his house over the past three days.
“During Black Saturday, we were able to fight because we had their help,” said Knight, who spoke with admiration of CFA volunteers.
“People down here are angry and believe the CFA have deserted them.”
Georgia McCormack and Aaron Williams, who are expecting their first child in July, only moved into their home on Tuesday but yesterday evacuated.
“We’re unsure, overwhelmed, stressed out and a bit numb,” she said.
“Our area is probably not going to make it, others are saying the fire will rip right through it.
“It’s not looking good — the sky is just black. It looked like it was snowing pieces of ash.”
Authorities were last night monitoring the pace of the largest of about 30 fires, which have cut power to hundreds of homes destroyed properties, and burned out more than 6000ha in the Bunyip State Park, southeast of Melbourne.
Some local schools will be shut on Monday.
V/Line suspended its services between Pakenham and Warragul; buses were being organised from Warragul for today.
Commuters were warned to allow well over 90 minutes for travel if the Princes Highway remained closed.
South of Morwell, a bushfire remains out-of-control near Yinnar South.
Emergency services have told communities southeast of the fire to enact their plan now.
The warning includes Budgeree, Budgeree East, Jeeralang, Jeeralang Junction, Jeeralang North, Jumbuk, Yinnar and Yinnar South.
A relief centre for those affected has been opened at Kernot Hall in Morwell, on Princes Drive.
The warning in Crooked River, southeast of Omeo, was downgraded to a watch and act shortly before 6.30pm and communities have been told to keep a close eye on conditions.
Those affected include Cowa, Crooked River, Gibbs, Hawkhurst, Howittville, Miowera, Shepherdson, Talbotville, Winchester and Wongungarra.
BRAVE CREWS’ BATTLE TO SAVE HOME
Harrowing footage showing CFA crews battling to save a property has emerged as evacuation alerts remain in place for residents in and around Labertouche North and Tonimbuk.
Country Fire Authority assistant chief officer Trevor Owen said if people chose to stay and defend, they needed to be well prepared.
“Do not put your own life in danger and that of your family unless you are well prepared, adhere to the messages and advice,” Mr Owen said.
Two homes were also lost in the Budgeree-Wilsons Promontory fires, incident controller for those blazes, Peter West, told the ABC.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had confirmed two house losses with the fire and some unconfirmed reports about other assets,” Mr West said.
Campers and day trippers had to be evacuated from Wilsons Promontory. There are also watch and act alerts out for fires at Dargo and Licola in Gippsland.
The Licola fire also started by lightning but the fire is currently travelling away from the township, Mr Crisp said.
Bushfire - Watch & Act for Bunyip State Park. For more info: https://t.co/rxyNkei3kq #vicfires pic.twitter.com/aVc07OlKWs
— CFA Updates (@CFA_Updates) March 3, 2019
Watch & Act message for the #Dargo area.
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) March 2, 2019
Don't wait, leaving now is the safest option - conditions may change and get worse very quickly. If leaving, you should take the Dargo Road and head south towards Sale.
Stay informed https://t.co/XZY9uEcO6X #vicfires pic.twitter.com/OowPomtOGt
Bushfire - Advice for Bunyip State Park. For more info: https://t.co/MZEc9XAkzs #vicfires
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) March 2, 2019
Bushfire - Prepare to Evacuate for Bunyip State Park. For more info: https://t.co/1oieLh1nm7 #vicfires
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) March 2, 2019
VIDEO: ‘THE WHOLE HOUSE IS SURROUNDED’
Footage shot by a CFA volunteer Lucie Gallagher last night showed fire surrounding
a property near Cornucopia.
“As you can see we are protecting a house at the moment,” Ms Gallagher said.
“We’ve run out of water, we can’t get out, so we just have a tanker near us at the moment.
“The whole house and property is surrounded.
“It looks like a lot of us are just stuck here at the moment with a water tanker coming … we just have to hold on tight and hopefully we can save this house.”
The mother of one who has volunteered for more than 13 years said the crews had been surrounded by a wall of flames in the moments before she filmed the scene.
“Conditions changed so quickly. The last time I experienced anything like that it was Black Saturday,” she said.
There are 850 emergency personnel with 110 appliances and multiple aircraft, fighting the fire which started on Friday afternoon as several different fires which then joined.
Water bombing aircraft operated overnight and fire crews are now assessing the situation.
An emergency warning remains in place for a fire at Budgeree in the Latrobe Valley.
LABERTOUCHE: ‘IT CAN’T HAPPEN AGAIN’
Kelpie puppy Jimmy alerted owners Margaret and Richard Pointing as the fire approached their 50-acre Labertouche property, forcing them to flee to the Drouin relief centre about 6am Sunday.
“He started barking about 2am and wouldn’t stop,” Ms Pointing said.
“He could see the flames and alerted us. We had a few things packed, we packed a few more and left.”
The couple took with them photos of their parents and a teddy Mr Pointing was given by his aunt as a child.
Other possessions packed a blue horse float, which was used to ferry a dog, two cats and a cockatoo to safety during the Black Saturday fires.
They lost fences, a machinery shed, about 80 bales of hay and horse shelters during that blaze.
Ms Pointing said it was “devastating” to evacuate again.
“We kept saying it can’t happen again,” she said. “It feels exactly the same, although the adrenaline kicked in earlier and the information is a lot better.”
In nearby Jindivick, The Jindi Caf, cooked extra roasts on Sunday in case exhausted firefighters needed to eat, rest and recharge.
The cafe also served as a pit stop for locals picking up a few groceries as they prepared for the wind change.
They cancelled their staff’s shifts but owner Susan Goodwin said the cafe would remain open as long as possible.
“I rang them (staff) and said ‘forget it’,” she said. “I said, ‘stay at home with your families’.
“We will stay open as long as we aren’t under threat, as long as it’s not dangerous, to at least to make sandwiches and have cold drinks.
“We also did extra roasts today so that if the guys come here, we can feed them.
“That’s what a community does, the community rallies together.”
Premier Andrews urged Victorians to “be of assistance” to emergency services and listen to warnings.
“Don’t put yourself in harm’s way,” Premier Andrews said.
“It’s a very challenging day — please be smart about being hydrated and stay out of the heat.”
BUSHFIRES: Hundreds of CFA are preparing for the day ahead at the Nar Nar Goon footy oval. Overnight, properties have been lost. Bunyip bushfire is 5244 hectares in size with 850 emergency personnel working to contain it. @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/cfx9x47Dcl
— Brianna Travers (@briannatravers) March 2, 2019
View of #vicfires from Cardinia Views estate - estate furthest east in Pakenham, almost bordering Nar Nar Goon pic.twitter.com/YgXEzPe3H9
— Shayne (@shaynehoney) March 1, 2019
Smoke on the horizon in Tynong North. #firealert @CFA_Updates #gippsland pic.twitter.com/QUhuT930qr
— Stephanie Bastiaan (@SCBastiaan) March 1, 2019
Day 2 of #vicfires from Tynong North. pic.twitter.com/JrNVkRebbV
— Stephanie Bastiaan (@SCBastiaan) March 1, 2019
This Watch & Act message is being issued for Gembrook, Whites Corner.
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) March 1, 2019
The bushfire is travelling in a north-westerly direction towards Gembrook.
Firefighters have not been able to stop the spread of the fire.
Stay updated: https://t.co/o7sdBsloEE pic.twitter.com/g8aKRDGo3l
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