Anxious night after lightning strikes

By Kath Gannaway
RESIDENTS of Yarra Junction and Launching Place spent an anxious night on Friday as fires blazed on Milner’s Hill, just a kilometre from Yarra Junction township.
The fire, which burnt 47 hectares of private bushland, was started by a lightning strike in the late afternoon.
CFA and DSE poured massive resources into the area from around the Yarra Valley, Dandenong Ranges and Maroondah CFA area with DSE man-power coming from as far away as Bacchus Marsh and Ballarat.
Four helicopters were called in to support the work on the ground.
Geoff Conway, CFA Region 13 operations manager, said the Yarra Junction strike was the worst of a number of lightning strikes in the valley.
“The bulk of the threat was on Friday night and it took until about lunch time on Saturday to complete the control line around the fire,” he said.
He praised the work of fire-fighters who he said did a great job in sweltering heat and terrain which was steep, rocky and covered with thick bush.
With the fire burning under a south-east wind, Mr Conway said residents of Victoria Road in Yarra Junction and Garden Hill Road in Launching Place took the brunt of the ember attack.
Mr Conway said the fire was a very clear demonstration that the fire risk is still very real in this region.
“Weather conditions we’ve experienced this year are very conducive to thunder storms and the number of fires started by lighting this year is above the average,” he said.
Mr Conway spoke out only last week about the number of illegal burn-offs brigades were being called to despite the fact the Fire Danger Period is still in force.
“We simply can’t afford for people to let their guard down,” he said.
Mr Conway said the CFA held community meetings over the weekend to keep people informed and that they were well attended.
The fire area will continue to be monitored throughout this week.