‘We dodged a bullet’: Bushfire threat eases for central Victorian towns

An emergency relief centre has opened for people who fled an out-of-control bushfire which earlier threatened lives in three central Victorian towns.

The fire started in inaccessible terrain around Tallarook State Forest, on a day in which emergency services warned Victorians to stay alert to extreme fire danger.

For several hours on Tuesday afternoon, authorities urged residents of Kerrisdale, Tallarook and Trawool – about 15 kilometres south of Seymour – to take shelter immediately from the blaze.

The emergency warning was lifted as of 8pm, but residents of those three towns are being told it is not safe to return.

The fire has also shifted course due to a wind change: it is now burning east instead of south, towards Kerrisdale.

It is now safe to return for residents along King Parrot Creek Road and surrounds from Tehans Road to Strath Creek Road.

About 96 firefighters, five helicopters and one fixed-wing aircraft were tackling the fire, which had burnt 144 hectares as of 5pm. There are no reports of property losses at this stage.

A relief centre has opened at Yea Recreation Reserve, 18-20 Snodgrass Street, Yea, under the control of Murrundindi Shire Council. Earlier, VicEmergency sent emergency warning messages to about 1000 phones in the area.

Residents of Granite, Dairy Creek and Homewood are being advised to stay informed and plan for what they will do if the situation changes.

Trawool resident David Williams said the fire began on his property, and got within 300 metres of his house.

Williams spent Tuesday driving his excavator and bobcat to help firefighters establish containment lines.

“We dodged a bullet,” he said. “We got rain at the same time as the wind change.”

“There were lots of people here fighting this fire that lost everything in the Longwood fire last month. It’s pretty remarkable.”

“They didn’t have to, they wanted to,” Williams said. He said the CFA volunteers wanted to return the favour to the people who showed up in their hour of need.

The Longwood fire was one of the worst blazes in the state during what was a devastating January for Victoria. A 78-year-old man died and hundreds of homes were lost when the fire burnt through more than 100,000 hectares of land. Firefighters were able to contain it only last Friday, five weeks later.

Police are still investigating that fire’s cause.

Cherny also said the wind change would push the fire back towards the area burnt by the Longwood fire in January.

Thunderstorms and a cool change began making their way across Victoria on Tuesday night, and senior meteorologist Ilana Cherny said rain was forecast over the fire area – but not much.

“Across parts of the state where the change has already come through, mostly we’re seeing falls of less than five millimetres,” Cherny said.

On Tuesday, parts of Melbourne and Victoria reached tops around 35 degrees, lower than the forecast top of 37 for Melbourne.

In Melbourne, firefighters responded to a blaze on Ballarat Road in Ardeer about 3.30pm, which has since been deemed suspicious. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.

About the same time, a small fire began at Warrandyte in the city’s outer east. Firefighters said this blaze, which was quickly controlled, was sparked by a ride-on mower.

Parts of the state have not had meaningful rain for weeks, leaving abundant dry fuel despite major blazes already this season.

Fires burnt more than 400,000 hectares across Victoria last month, leaving almost 1600 structures damaged or destroyed.

A major bushfire in the Otways flared up later in January, prompting evacuations and causing property losses.

On Monday, Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch said the Otways fire would hopefully be contained next week.

Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Ilana Cherny said Victorians could expect cooler conditions over the next few days, before top temperatures returned to the 30s on Friday.

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