Victorian bushfires: Fears more homes will be lost as intense fires rage across state’s east
Homes and lives are under threat as nineteen intense bushfires rage across the state’s east, including three major threatening fires which are burning out-of-control.
A wind change that swept eastward across Victoria after 9pm on Sunday eased firefighting efforts in areas south-east of Melbourne, with the Bunyip State Park downgraded slightly to a ‘Watch and Act’ warning level early Monday morning.
While the Bunyip blaze is currently within containment lines, Victorian emergency authorities are still urging residents to consider leaving their homes if they haven’t already or if they are away from their properties not to return.
Among those devastated was Andrew Clarke, owner of Jinks Creek Winery. He said his family had lost everything after fire burnt through their winery at Tonimbuk.
He said he was sitting in a cafe in Bunyip after evacuating the night before when he learnt the bushfire had engulfed his rural property.
“We’ve lost everything,” he said. “We’ve lost our whole livelihood.”
Emergency warnings remain in place for multiple suburbs including Budgeree, Budgeree East, Jeeralang, Jeeralang Junction, Jeeralang North, Jumbuk, Yinnar and Yinnar South.
"Obviously there are some [fires] which are still a very high priority for us," Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp 3AW radio.
"Yinnar still has an emergency warning and the fire Bunyip now has a 'Watch and Act' warning but that's not to say we don't have significant work to do ... but we're in a lot better position than we were yesterday."
More than 500 people visited five emergency relief centres set up across the state’s east on Sunday.
About 50 people spent a second night on blow-up mattresses on the basketball courts or sleeping inside their cars at Bellbird Park in Drouin, radio station 3AW reports.
Mr Crisp said authorities faced testing conditions on Monday, but cooler temperatures would assist firefighters.
"Milder temperatures and milder conditions will help us on some of our more significant fires," he said.
"But we'll still have a very challenging day ahead of us."
Yinnar South resident Bernard Marsh had gone to Melbourne for a reptile expo on Sunday when he received a phone call that the fires were burning near his home.
"I’m pretty confident if I haven’t lost my house it’s severely damaged ... it’s entirely enveloped in the fire air," he told ABC on Monday.
"I’ve got two pairs of shorts and T-shirts to my name if [the house] is gone.”
Mr Marsh said he lives at the end of a dirt road in the last house on the block.
"It’s beautiful ... but it hasn’t had a fire since the 30s so it’s full of debris," he said. "When you live in this country ... the price of beauty is a bit of danger.”
Firefighters and residents were also bracing for more homes to be lost.
At least three homes were destroyed by the 10,000 hectare Bunyip fire on Sunday, including one at Tonimbuk that exploded as it was engulfed in flames.
At least another two buildings were destroyed by another bushfire near Yinnar South in the Latrobe Valley, as more than a dozen fires raged across the state as temperatures reached their hottest during the day.
Hundreds of firefighters are battling to contain the blazes, as residents bunker down in evacuation centres, not knowing if their homes will be among those lost.
The Bunyip fire razed homes and sheds, and incinerated vineyards on Sunday, as thousands of people evacuated their homes.
While many residents chose to stay and defend their homes, others were forced to do so after being told it was too late to leave, with the Princes Freeway closed in both directions between Nar Nar Goon and Drouin.
The freeway, and many other local roads, could remain closed for days yet.
By Monday morning about 900 homes were left without power, with about 550 homes cut off about 2.40pm Sunday at Gembrook, Maryknoll, Nar Nar Goon and Tynong.
The severity of the blaze prompted Premier Daniel Andrews to implore people not to risk their lives – and put others in danger.
"Don't put yourself in harm's way and potentially add to the already considerable workload our firefighters have," he said.
Late Sunday afternoon firefighters began focusing on their own safety, on high alert for a wind change that was expected to make conditions even more unpredictable and dangerous.
More than 850 of them fought to control the blaze sparked by lightning strikes on Friday night, using 100 fire trucks, 18 heavy machines and 10 aircraft.
The change hit the Bunyip fire about 8pm bringing strong winds, cooler temperatures and pushing the fire away from several towns and towards the Bunyip State Park.
It petered out before reaching the fires further east.
More than 150 firefighters battled the Yinnar South fire.
Meanwhile, campers and daytrippers had to be evacuated from Wilsons Promontory, due a fire north of Tidal River.
At 5.30pm on Sunday, authorities issued an emergency warning for another large fire at Dargo, while a fourth major blaze also raged near Licola.
Despite the wind switching from the north-westerly to south-easterly direction, bringing cooler conditions, firefighters may have to wait until Wednesday before conditions change in their favour.
Forest Fire Management Victoria’s Chris Eagle said the Bunyip fire in Gippsland had "significantly expanded" on Sunday afternoon.
Mr Eagle said he expected to find more homes lost once the ash and smoke had cleared.
"We had three [destroyed properties] confirmed this morning, but given the fire’s grown over 4000 hectares today, more will be impacted," he said.
At least 25 schools and 19 early childhood services will be closed in towns in south-eastern Victoria on Monday with roads cut and travel dangerous.
Federation University's Gippsland campus and Drouin Secondary College were among those to announce their closure on social media on Sunday with centres in Bunyip, Garfield and Jindivick also affected.
A full list of the closures can be seen on the emergency closures page of the Department of Education’s website.
Firefighters were expecting similar conditions for the next few days and Mr Eagle said it might not be until Wednesday that a cold front bought "limited rain".
It was lightning strikes that ignited the Bunyip blaze on Friday night and four separate fires morphed into one on Saturday.
On Sunday, the fire burnt dangerously close to two electricity transmission lines linking the Latrobe Valley and Melbourne.
"Firefighters are protecting these transmission lines, both on the ground and through water bombing from the air," a company statement on Sunday afternoon said.
The lines are running at the north of the fire and at the southern border, near the Princes Freeway.
The company operates Victoria's electricity transmission network and said supply could be exposed to risk.
"However the situation is unpredictable, and may change quickly," the statement said.
Fire had already damaged power lines and poles in the Gippsland area with outages reported in Tonimbuk, Yinnar South and Budgeree.
Residents of Labertouche were door knocked and told to evacuate on Sunday afternoon.
Others in areas including Bunyip, Cornucopia, Garfield, Gentle Annie, Longwarry, Maryknoll, Nar Nar Goon, Tonimbuk and Tynong were told it was too late to leave and to take shelter immediately.
Two homes were also lost in the Budgeree-Wilsons Promontory fires, incident controller for those blazes, Peter West, told the ABC.
Several aircraft were sent from NSW to help fight the fires and emergency services are coordinating more support from across the country.
- with Liam Mannix, AAP