Fire threat continues
Updated
The people of Victoria wake for the sixth day of the bush fire crisis with fires still burning across the state.
Fire has now destroyed 450-thousand hectares of bush, farmland, plantations and of course rural communities. The death toll is still 181 with warnings it will rise. Crews are making good progress on all of the big fires, before next week's predicted hot weather and lightning strikes.
Presenter: Rachael Brown
Speakers: Stuart Ord from the Department of Sustainability and Environment, Richard O'Burn, Department of Sustainability and Environment
- Listen:
- Windows Media
RICHARD O'BURN: We have urgent threat messages for Healesville. So residents in the area of Donnellys Weir Road, St Leonards Road, Camerons Road, McGregor Avenue, Goondah Lane, Clifford Road, White Street, Westmount Road, Evelyn Grove, Eadie Avenue, Wattles Court, Trench Farm Road, Myers Creek Road, Valley Farm Road and also in the Mount Lebanon- Chum Creek area, the Healesville Kinglake Road between Merlin Street and Blackwood Road.
RACHAEL BROWN: And what are they being asked to do?
RICHARD O'BURN: Residents should activate their fire plans now - patrol their area, put out anything burning within their area. Or if their plan is to leave, they should leave.
So we're having increased fire activity in the Donnellys Weir area. It's pushed by 25 kilometre easterly winds. There's been a little bit of erratic behaviour with those winds in the gully areas so that's pushed fires into places where there's additional fuel and we've had some flare-ups, as you say, of existing fires that have been there for some days now.
RACHAEL BROWN: Adam Menary lives in Healesville on a ridge and describes the spectrum of colour he's looking at over the community.
ADAM MENARY: Sort of blue sky on one side of our house with black leaves sort of occasionally coming down, going into sort of more grey through steel with a really a red sunrise coming over the mountains and very heavy smoke coming over the north of Healesville.
RACHAEL BROWN: And talk to me about what kind of fire it seems like it is to you at the moment in Donnellys Weir.
ADAM MENARY: I'd say that it's over the mountain and it look to me like there was a massive fire that went up towards Mount St Leonards last night. It covered the whole mountain with a wildfire and then another fire appeared to be burning after that. So, I'd say that those fires have crept down into Donnellys Weir.
RICHARD O'BURN: Mr Menary says there'd need to be hot temperatures and winds to convince him to leave his property, neither of which are present at the moment.
Stuart Ord from the Department of Sustainability and Environment says crews across the State are using good weather conditions to bring the rest of Victoria's bushfires under control.
STUART ORD: Weather conditions are really good for the next few days. They're still in our favour. They've been in our favour for two days and it looks like for another two or three days. So we anticipate doing some really good work on the whole of the edge of all of the fires today.
