IT has been a busy week for the region’s firefighters, with local brigades responding to several callouts across Mitchell Shire and beyond.
Firefighters were on high alert yesterday, with a total fire ban declared in the North Central fire district, which includes Mitchell Shire.
CFA crews responded to two car fires – one in the early hours of Sunday, January 17 at Dockerys Road, Tallarook, and another in Pyalong near the intersection of the Northern Highway and Lancefield-Pyalong Road at the weekend.
Pyalong resident David Waye said the car fire on Saturday night could have been much worse if not for the swift response of firefighters.
“Fortunately, the car was sitting on a mown verge, near houses, so the response by local emergency services was swift. Only the car and a small area of grass on the verge were burnt, with no damage to local properties,” he said.
“If this had happened on one of the many backroads in the district, most of which have roadsides of high fuel loading, then the outcome could have been catastrophic.”
Mr Waye said residents were especially nervous about fires because of neglected roadside vegetation, which caused a fire hazard, as reported in last week’s Review.
In addition to the two car fires, several Mitchell Shire CFA brigades attended a grass fire at Graytown, near Heathcote, on Tuesday last week. A total of 20 CFA vehicles attended the blaze, which destroyed two sheds and burnt more than 200 hectares of land.
A smaller grass fire on January 17 was quickly brought under control at Hilldene, with Tallarook Fire Brigade members assisting Hilldene firefighters and other brigades to limit its spread.
