Warragul & Drouin Gazette

BUSHLAND BURNS

- by Carolyn Turner

An out of control bushfire at Seaview has burnt through hundreds of hectares at the base of Mt Worth National Park.

The fire started on Saturday night in Daffs Track and police believe it was deliberate­ly lit.

Hundreds of firefighte­rs from across West Gippsland fought all weekend to contain the fire which is burning in bushland and sections of pine plantation near McDonalds Trk and Daffs Trk.

A community meeting yesterday afternoon was told communitie­s were not under threat but air and ground crews were working hard to control the blaze.

CFA incident controller Craig Ferguson said they had a lot of aircraft working on the fire, concentrat­ing to bring it under control in the next two days before weather conditions heat up again. He said the benign and cooler temperatur­es yesterday meant there was no threat to communitie­s.

Strike team leader Rob Auchterlon­e of Dumbalk CFA said hard work by CFA volunteers on Saturday night had establishe­d containmen­t lines on the north and south flanks and part of the western flank.

Several homes on Petersons Rd, Ellinbank were under threat on Saturday night.

Neale and Lisa Parke had the fire burn to the boundary of their property. Lisa and their five children left but Neale stayed on and was assisted by CFA volunteers. Mr Auchterlon­ie said he was very pleased to see the CFA arrive and their property was saved. Continued p9

 ??  ?? Above: Chloe Prideaux, 15, of Drouin was having dinner with friends at Ellinbank when the fire took hold on Saturday night. She captured this image looking across the hills to the Seaview fire front.
Above: Chloe Prideaux, 15, of Drouin was having dinner with friends at Ellinbank when the fire took hold on Saturday night. She captured this image looking across the hills to the Seaview fire front.

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