Eerie red skies lit up the Wandong and surrounding townships last Thursday night, due to a privately planned burn-off at a blue gum plantation on Dry Creek Road.
Smoke and flames were visible from Hidden Valley and the Northern Highway, with locals taking to Facebook to share images of the scene, with one user stating that the glow could be seen from as far as Doreen.
While the Wandong Fire Brigade shared notice of the burn-off on social media and via the digital sign above their brigade in Rail Street, the VicEmergency app did not provide users with information regarding the event, concerning several locals who believed the burn-off to be a bushfire.
“I ended up going for a drive to suss it out, and ran into another local who told me it was a planned burn,” one local said.
“But there were a few others like me who were driving round, trying to figure out what was going on, since it wasn’t on the app.
“At one point, the app actually said there was a bushfire, and that got me really worried.
“I saw on Facebook afterwards that the Wandong CFA had shared it online, but yeah, the glow was pretty eerie, and I thought the worst for a bit.”
However, a State Control Centre spokesperson informed the Review that only CFA planned burns were visible on the VicEmergency app.
“Private registered burn-offs don’t appear on the VicEmergency app. Planned burns from agencies such as Forest Fire Management Victoria appear as an incident,” they said.
“There was a report of an out-of-control burn-off in Wandong at 7.35pm … which resulted in the bushfire alert being published on the VicEmergency app.
“Firefighters attended, and at 7.52pm this alert was changed to a false alarm when the burn-off was found to be within control lines.”
In addition to downloading the VicEmergency app, residents are encouraged to like and follow their local fire brigades on social media for local news and events.
In case of an emergency, call 000.
For more information on fire safety, www.cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare.
