Gippsland Portal

Gippsland › Latest news › Department of Primary Industries

Community Update – 1100 hrs Saturday January 25/1/03

Informing the local community and visitors about going fires and the control measures

By Gippsland Fire Information - 28th January 2003 - Back to News

The Fires

The Bogong Complex of fires burning in Alpine country north of Omeo has now burned through nearly 200,000 hectares of park and forest.

The north east section of this fire is expected to join the Pinnabar fire, south of Corryong in the next few days.

The spotover at Mt Blowhard, south west of Hotham Village has been brought under control, but another one near Mount St Bernard on the Dargo Spur, also south west of Hotham is causing concern.

The Tubbut fire (Bowens Track) was contained early yesterday evening after nine days of hard work by fire crews. This fire burnt a total area of 1,765 hectares, including almost 470 hectares of grazing land

Fighting the Fires

Ground crews and heavy plant machinery are attempting to establish a control line around the spotover near Mount St Bernard, but the terrain is steep and inaccessible, so aircraft will be used as soon as visibility allows.

Priority for today is the protection of communities at risk in the Omeo and Benambra areas, with major fire breaks established around these communities and around Cassilis, north west of Swifts Creek.

Residents throughout the region are reminded that while everything possible will be done to protect them, it will be impossible to have a fire crew protecting every property under threat as resources will be stretched to the limit.

Monitoring the Fire

Cloud and smoke are still making it difficult to track the fire from the air.

All efforts are focused on preparation for worsening weather conditions.

The Weather

Severe fire weather is predicted for the weekend: high temperatures, with northerly winds and very dry conditions.

Where to from here?

Community Information meetings will be

held today in Nowa Nowa at 10.00am at the Community Health Centre and in Gelantipy at 2.00pm at the Fire Station.

These meetings will provide the opportunity for residents to hear the latest news from the Incident Control Centre as well as ask questions and have input into the fire control effort.

Community meetings held in Buchan and Bruthen yesterday were well attended, with 600 people at Bruthen and 500 at Buchan.

Community noticeboards are displaying information at: Omeo Hall, Omeo Fire Station, Omeo Staging Area, Benambra Fire Station, Blue Duck Hotel, Swifts Creek General Store, Ensay Store, Ensay Little River Inn, Cassilis Winery.

How will it affect you?

Residents in high risk communities are reminded to enact their fire plans now to protect themselves and their properties. Make the decision about whether to leave, or to stay and defend your property in plenty of time.

The more decisions you make now about what to take and what to leave behind, the quicker you will be able to move if the time comes to do so.

For residents in the Omeo and Benambra areas, the Omeo Oval is your designated refuge area. For residents in the Swifts Creek, Cassilis and Ensay areas, Swifts Creek Secondary College is your designated refuge area.

If you leave your home or town you are requested to inform the Australian Red Cross staff at your local refuge area, who are keeping track of all movements during the fires for safety reasons.

If you have already registered but you then change your plans it is important to inform the Red Cross. Also, if you leave your vehicle at a staging area they should be informed.


Road closures: 

  • Omeo Highway between Omeo and Eskdale
  • Great Alpine Road north of Omeo
  • Benambra-Corryong road, between Omeo and Corryong
  • Benambra Road between Uplands and Colac Colac
  • Benambra-Suggan Buggan Road (Limestone-Black Mountain Road)
  • Bogong High Plains Road between Falls Creek and Omeo Highway.
  • Dargo High Plains Road between Dargo & Mt Hotham
  • The Omeo Highway north of Bruthen is closed to all vehicles except emergency vehicles and local traffic.
  • No public access to Bogong High Plains, Bogong Village, Mount Hotham Village and Falls Creek.

Safety Messages

Extreme weather conditions forecast for the next two days will make control of the fires difficult. Residents in affected areas are warned to be alert, enact their bushfire plans and to keep close watch for fire threat in their area.

Residents in affected areas are reminded to be on the lookout for falling embers and take all measures to extinguish them as soon as they land.

Tune your car and house radio to local stations (3HCR, High Country Radio on 97.3 and ABC Regional Radio on 100.7 FM or 720 on AM band) and keep listening for fire location information, spread of fires and weather conditions to monitor your local situation so you have an up to date snapshot of what is happening.

If there is a fire in your area have a bag of protective clothing set aside in case you need to be outside to defend your home.

Appropriate clothing would include natural fibre long sleeved shirt and pants, sturdy boots, wide-brimmed hats and gloves (no thongs, singlets or rubber-soled shoes).

Keep drinking lots of water even if you aren’t thirsty.

CFA encourage families to think about what they would do if a fire threatens their home so they can make an informed choice about staying and actively defending their property or leave early.

Leaving early should occur before 10 am on a high risk fire day or in a fire situation. Leaving when you see the flames is too late. If you choose to stay ensure all family members know your plan and what to do.

Everyone should be dressed in protective clothing including solid footwear, long sleeves and pants in natural fibre material and wide brimmed hat and gloves.

Close all windows and doors and use wet towels to block gaps between doors and floors. Hose down gardens and the house. Block downpipes and fill gutters with water. Fill buckets and have a ladder ready to look in the manhole and to remove embers from high places. You should shelter inside from the radiant heat while the fire front passes.

Once you are able to get outside, patrol the perimeter of your house and put out spot fires and burning embers. Ensure you return inside and into the roof to check for fires.

Keep cool, stay safe.

Contingency plans

Staff from the Department of Primary Industries and the CFA are endeavouring to ensure that communities most likely to be affected by the fires in the region are kept well informed and up to date with the situation as it develops.

This section of the Community Update is directed at those communities to help prepare them for the possibility of fire threat.

There will be Community Information meetings held today in Nowa Nowa at 10.00am at the Community Health Centre and in Gelantipy at the Fire Station at 2.00pm.

Work has also commenced on the upgrade of strategic fire breaks throughout Gippsland.

Contingency lines from Powelltown to Mallacoota are being upgraded and maintained by Gippsland Region DPI/DSE. The contingency lines are generally forest roads and tracks close to the private land and public land interface. Should existing fires or any new fires threaten private assets, under favourable conditions these lines may offer an opportunity to backburn.

The CFA is also liaising with landholders with properties adjoining public land with a view to consolidating firebreaks in the grassland.

A new Gippsland Community Fire Information Unit has been established at the Traralgon DPI office for the Gippsland region, jointly managed by CFA and DPI staff and the Police. A community contact line has been set up here for anyone affected by the fires to obtain information relevant to their situation.

This number will give you information on every aspect of the fire situation in Gippsland, your bushfire preparation and planning and further contacts that you might need. Note: this number is for information only, not for reporting fires. Call 000 or your local fire station to report any new fires.

The Gippsland Community Fire Information Line: 1800 668 066 will be open from 8.00am today (Saturday).

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com



Edit this news article




Related Articles

Let Emma add your News

Baw Baw Bass Coast Cardinia East Gippsland Latrobe City South Gippsland Wellington
© 2001-2025 gippsland.com Print this page | Email a friend this page | Subscribe to Newsletter | Feedback / Inquiries | Login
Edit Page | Edit Site | Uploader | Admin : 1.23 sec