Blazing anger at late alerts
AS THE ground battle eases for firefighters in southwest Victoria, authorities are feeling the heat over criticism of the state’s emergency alert system.
More than 140 firefighters yesterday continued to “black out” embers amid the threat of flare-ups, after blazes that destroyed homes, sheds and livestock.
Five alerts remain in place, including for the main farming communities of Terang, Cobden, Penshurst and Camperdown, where fires are contained.
At least 18 homes, 42 dairy and machinery sheds and hundreds of livestock have been destroyed, but the tally could rise as people re-enter devastated areas to assess damage.
“The community will continue to see smoke for some time, however this is not related to an increase in fire activity,” Colac Incident Control Centre’s Les Vearing said yesterday.
“We have been working closely with the EPA on smoke management planning and they have deployed air monitoring systems so we can keep an eye on conditions.”
As the fire threat eased, residents vented frustration over the time it took for emergency text alerts to be distributed.
Karen Chislett told media she received an alert at 11.30pm on Saturday, some two hours after driving at Gnotuk, near Camperdown, where “to the left of me the hill was just ablaze”.
Emergency Services Minister James Merlino said the timing of the fires had made it difficult to alert residents.
“Alerts are sent out as soon as information is provided, but gathering that information is so much harder in the dead of night,” he said.
“It’s the visibility, the fact you at the moment can’t have aircraft in the air, it’s much harder on the ground to gather that information in the middle of a fire fight in the evening.”
He also said it was “despicable” that cash, including charitable donations, were stolen from a Terang cafe as the town was evacuated.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Stephen King says cooler conditions are forecast in the region, but no rain is expected until Saturday.
Agriculture Victoria is yet to tally the animal death count, which is likely to run into the thousands.
Lightning strikes on Saturday are probably responsible for the blazes, but police are investigating the exact cause.
Victoria has gone for more than 45 days without significant rain.