Victoria bushfires: rain and cool conditions bring blazes under control
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Version 0 of 1. Cooler conditions overnight have helped firefighters in Victoria contain bushfires near Ballarat and in the state’s north-east. Authorities have downgraded emergency warnings and residents have been allowed into Scotsburn near Ballarat to assess the damage caused by a fire that claimed 13 homes and damaged four over the weekend. Another 30 sheds were destroyed by the blaze that scorched 4,600 hectares. Related: Bushfires: 10 homes lost in Victoria before cool change sweeps through The Country Fire Authority’s James Todd told the ABC heavy rain on Sunday night had helped bring the Scotsburn blaze under control. “Firefighters will make use of the first light this morning to mop up that fire as best they can,” he said. Fast-moving fires in the state’s north-east are now burning within containment lines. Emergency warnings in Barnawartha, Indigo Upper, Indigo Valley, Levena and Levena West have been downgraded to watch and act. “Obviously as the sun gets up the wind may freshen, so until that fire is actually out there’s a risk it could flare up again,” Todd said. “But we’re confident with the milder condition today we should be able to mop it up.” The state Emergency Management Commissioner, Craig Lapsley, confirmed on Monday three buildings had been lost in Barnawartha, including one home. He said fears were held for Christmas Day when fire conditions are expected to be the worsen again. “It will progressively get hotter over the next few days and build to Friday. Friday will be the hottest day, it will also be a windy day,” Lapsley told the ABC. “So we are sort of focusing now towards Christmas Day being the hottest day of the week and between now and then, we want to make sure any fire, any lightning strike that is hitting the bush we get on top of.” One firefighters was injured and livestock was lost in the Scotsburn blaze, which was brought under control around 9.30pm on Sunday, he said. “A thousand sheep have been lost, five horses from a horse stud in the area, so that has significant impacts, let alone we haven’t counted the amount of fences and so on, so a bigger bill, no doubt, but no loss of life,” he said. The Victorian Emergency Services Minister, Jane Garrett, said relief centres and payments had been activated. “We are very blessed, thanks to the hard work of many, many people that we didn’t suffer any loss of life, particularly in the Scotsburn area,” she said. “But we do know there have been eight properties impacted and some of those will be houses where people have lost everything.” Impact assessment teams and the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, were expected to visit the state’s north-east later on Monday. More than 500 personnel had battled to contain the Scotsburn fire, believed to have been started by a spark from machinery in a paddock. Three CFA crews were lucky to escape the fast-moving flames that also razed 30 sheds.They were trapped in their trucks when a storm cell ran into the smoke plume at Scotsburn, pushing the fire to the west while the winds hit from the north. The crew activated sprinklers and ducked under fire retardant blankets until the danger had passed. Todd said conditions early this week would settle but Victorians needed to prepare for warmer conditions closer to Christmas and into summer. “What we’ve got is fairly stable weather patterns for the rest of the week,” he said. “We’ll have cooler weather and more light breezes, with a lot less chance of fires starting from natural events. “The forecast for Christmas Eve and Day is low 30s, a bit warmer in the north-east,” he said.“But we’re saying to all Victorians that we’re only in December – and that means we have two more months of fire ahead of us.” |