Strong, scorching winds blew up the flames at Dereel near Geelong on Wednesday, causing locals to be warned to take cover indoors due to the hazardous fire conditions.
Up to 400 firefighters worked the fire all night long until it was declared contained by early Thursday morning.
According to state Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent, there was no dry lightning in the region, thus an inquiry was conducted.
De Groot said on ABC radio, “We were choking on smoke, everyone’s there yelling get out, you have to leave, it’s not safe.”
Her spouse reported that the fire was so loud that he was unable to hear planes dropping water bombs over the region as he stayed to protect a nearby house.
“He claimed it was extremely fast, hot, and noisy, with hair-raising consequences,” she remarked.
Authorities advise that it is still unsafe for anybody to return to Dereel, Amphitheatre, Bayindeen, Ben Nevis, Chute, Elmhurst, Eversley, Glenlogie, Mount Cole, Mount Lonarch, and Raglan. Watch and act alerts are still in effect for both fires.A spokesman for the State Control Center, Luke Hegarty, stated that further work has to be done to ensure that the region is safe from risks. “Especially after these kinds of fires, we need to check the trees haven’t been damaged by fire and are going to fall,” he added.
