FIrefighters work on Blampied grassfire yesterday
After quickly containing a grass fire near Daylesford, firefighters are already bracing for the return of dangerously hot conditions next week.
Victorian Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley said the community of Kangaroo Hills was very close to the fire and would likely have been hit had the blaze not been contained by crews, including four aircraft.
There was also a small fire still burning in the nearby Wombat State Forest, as well as the continuing blaze at Kentbruck in the state’s far south-west.
Mr Lapsley said the forecast temperatures and wind speeds yesterday in western and central Victoria were exceeded and the day was drier than expected.
“We have had a very hot, a very dry, a very windy afternoon,” he said.
Milder conditions were expected throughout the weekend, with the next severe danger days predicted to be next Wednesday or Thursday.
“It’s very dry, we will see further northerly winds associated with the south-westerly change, so the recipe is there that Victoria continues and certainly next week will continue to have severe and extreme fire weather,” he said.
“People should do everything they possibly can to make sure that their properties are safe and that they have made decisions about their safety and not only themselves but their family’s.”
He said he was confident the CFA website and emergency text message alert service was working well.
Several people at a community meeting in Snake Valley earlier this week were angry they could not access the website or receive SMS emergency alerts when a blaze destroyed nine homes in the area.
Mr Lapsley said people should get their information from a variety of sources, including the CFA website and local radio.
“Don’t rely on one option alone,” he said.
He urged people who had yet to do so to prepare their home in case of a bushfire.
“It’s not too late to do work around your property,” he said.