FIRESTORM DESTRUCTION
THE cause of a 630ha grass fire at Mount Mercer that prompted the CFA to tell residents it was too dangerous to leave their homes is yet to be determined.
The blaze, brought under control on Friday night by 120 firefighters, was yesterday still burning in gullies along the Leigh River inaccessible to CFA vehicles.
Parts of Coopers Rd, Meredith, are closed but local traffic is being allowed to pass.
CFA incident controller Brendan Lawson said drones were used to identify the fire’s hot spots.
“It is steep. It drops down into huge gullies along the Leigh River out of the paddocks. It was definitely a huge challenge for firefighters because we can’t get our vehicles in there. There was a lot of aircraft in the fire fight. To put the fire out completely is going to take time.”
Mr Lawson said there’s “absolutely no risk to the community because the fire is completely contained.”
“We expect fire agencies will be out there for at least the next couple of days,” he said.
“The public may see some aircraft on the fire ground, they may see some extra fire appliances out there from time to time as we burn out little pockets on unburnt fuel.
“Investigators have been involved but at this stage we haven’t identified a cause.”
Valuable cropping land was scorched by the blaze that started on Friday afternoon and burnt for more than six hours. Two farm sheds were also destroyed.
Meanwhile, firefighters battled two blazes in the Otways at the weekend.
A 26ha fire at Carlisle River prompted the CFA to issue an advice message for nearby residents. Fourteen vehicles were responding to the TuckersOrchard Rd blaze last night.
Elsewhere, the CFA contained a fire at the Jamieson Track in Separation Creek.
On Saturday, two people were assessed by paramedics following a rubbish-pile fire in East Geelong that started at a Godfrey St home being renovated. It was declared safe about 20 minutes after is started.
Land owners impacted by the Mount Mercer fire can phone Matt Sims from Golden Plains Shire on 0437 097 269 for assistance.