Nation on alert as bushfires spread, Gillard warns NSW residents to be vigilant


Two Victorian homes destroyed, people hurt

08 January 2013

published by www.theaustralian.com.au


Australia —  TWO homes have been destroyed and two people injured in a bushfire in central Victoria as the state also battles fires in its north and southwest.

Residents of the town of Snake Valley, about 30km from Ballarat, say two homes were burnt down on Tuesday.

“We have lost a couple of homes,” a man, who did not want to be named, told AAP from the Snake Valley Hotel.

“I can see it from the hotel with the smoke four to five kilometres away.”

The grassfire has grown to about 500 hectares in size and was bearing down on the farming community of Carngham where most of the 400 residents have been evacuated.

A father and son, aged in their 50s and 20s, were treated for radiation burns at the staging centre at the Snake Valley Golf Club after they had driven from their home to safety.

Rural Ambulance spokesman John Mullen said the pair suffered superficial burns to their face and hands and were taken to Ballarat Base Hospital for observation.

He believes another four people have presented themselves at the hospital for treatment for minor burns.

A Country Fire Authority spokeswoman confirmed two homes had been hit by fire in the Chepstowe area with the grassfire casting spot fires about one kilometre ahead.

An emergency warning was issued on Tuesday afternoon for the Chepstowe district, as the fire burnt through the area around the Beaufort-Carngham and Station Lane intersection.

A blaze at Kentbruck, which flared up last Friday, has burnt though 9000 hectares, but a westerly wind has forced the fire back on itself.

Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley said the fire was not expected to directly hit Dartmoor near the South Australian border, but the town was on the highest alert.

“We don’t believe this fire will be controlled today. This will reach into tomorrow due to the conditions in southwestern Victoria,” Mr Lapsley told reporters.

Northeastern Victoria was also on high alert with wind speeds getting up to 60km/h and temperatures reaching the low 40s.

“It is serious fire weather in northern Victoria, it is very serious fire weather in southern NSW,” Mr Lapsley said.

“Fires that do start will run hard, fast and be very difficult to control,” he said.

Victorian fire crews would be positioned at Wodonga and Wangaratta to help respond to fires in southern NSW if required as well as blazes in northeastern Victoria, including Corryong. The Elvis water bomber had also been moved from Essendon to Wangaratta, he said.

Victorian fire crews were also expected to help fight the growing blaze between Cooma and Bega in NSW.

The 64 Victorian firefighters who went to Tasmania on Sunday will return on Thursday and be replaced with a fresh contingent on Friday.

Mr Lapsley said a separate small fire at Sunbury on the Calder Highway had been controlled by 30 fire crews.

An emergency alert was sent to 1400 people in the area, in Melbourne’s northwest, via mobile phones and landlines.
 


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