THE swiftness of a grass fire that spread towards Allendale on Wednesday evening shows the vital importance of vigilance and having a ready-to-act bushfire plan.
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Some residents report it moved so quickly that by the time some Henders Road residents were made aware, it was already too late for them to leave.
On Thursday, trees continued to smoulder across the blackened landscape and the smell of smoke in the air was pungent as residents assessed the damage to their properties to the sounds of charred limbs crashing to the ground.
After trawling through the landscape searching for the cause of the fire the following morning, fire investigators determined that a burn off prior to the fire season had reignited.
The fire began about 6.10pm near the corner of West Berry Road and Bailey Street and with the wind behind it, it spread quickly.
An emergency warning was issued for Allendale, Broomfield and Kingston shortly afterwards, when residents were told attempting to leave may not be safe. This was followed by a watch and act message for the towns of Creswick, Newlyn, Smeaton, Smokeytown and Springmount.
Henders Road resident Glenn McKechnie was home alone when he smelt smoke. Surveying the landscape, he noticed smoke billowing from the direction of West Berry Road and called triple-0.
He said the fire had moved extremely quickly and in a short time, it had reached his property. He only had a few minutes to decide that he would stay and protect his property using a truck and a water pump.
"I tried to do what I could, but one person can't do it alone," he said.
WATCH FIRIES IN ACTION AT THE FIRE BELOW
Mr McKechnie said Country Fire Authority volunteers were "fantastic" and were quick to flood the area to protect his and neighbouring properties, which were directly in the line of the fire.
The CFA worked with Forest Fire Management Victoria firefighters on bulldozers and the shire grader, in order to push tracks in the landscape.
About 40 CFA units were deployed on the ground around Allendale in an effort to contain the fire. While unable to launch for some time due to the high winds, the firefighting effort on the ground was also assisted by the dispatch of a water bombing aircraft, which refilled with water from Mr McKechnie's dam.
Mr McKechnie and his wife have lived at their property for about eight years. While their home and working vehicles were not affected by the fire, about half of the land they graze cattle and goats on was burnt and a large machinery shed filled with equipment and hay was lost.
None of their animals were harmed by the fire.
After burning across Mr McKechnie's property, the fire jumped Henders Road to Kevin Moneghetti's property, from which he runs a wholesale nursery business, 'Floral Enterprises'.
Throughout the year the business supplies flowers and shrubs for the City of Ballarat, including the Christmas reindeers. It also supplies begonias for purchase at the Ballarat Begonia Festival.
While shadecloths were singed and many plants killed due to the extreme heat, Mr Moneghetti was thankful as "it could have been a lot worse".
In the past Mr Moneghetti has volunteered as a firefighter and as such understood what was happening as the fire tore across the landscape towards his property.
He said it was pretty "frightening" with the wind driving the fire straight towards his house as he was only armed with a garden hose.
We consider ourselves very lucky. The firefighters did an excellent job and saved the three homes here.
- Kevin Moneghetti
Another nearby resident, Rebecca Bell, said: "I was driving home from work and I saw the flames along the road and lots of smoke".
She said she was worried about the petrol tank in her car exploding so she reversed down the road, just before the flames began to lick across the road.
"It just took off, it went straight down past our fence line, and then when the wind changed it came back in a big circle, but amazingly it missed every house," she said.
Ms Bell said her property had a number of horses on it, but they remained content in the stables.
CFA Commander Anthony Pearce said the fact a deep seeded burn had not been completely extinguished and was reignited by the high temperature and wind, causing nearby vegetation to ignite, was a reminder of the importance that any planned burns completed prior to the fire season needed to be regularly monitored.
He said local crews had responded promptly and did a fantastic job in protecting the Allendale and Broomfield communities before support arrived from brigades from the wider region.
The fire, which burnt across about 42 hectares, was classified as contained just after 8pm.
"That was predominantly down to the great work of fire crews on the ground," Commander Pearce said.
He said the wind change also arrived at a convenient time to push the fire away from Broomfield, stopping it from spreading.
Commander Pearce said the fire season was still well and truly active, despite recent rain.
"People still need to be vigilant. The rain has by no means been enough to put an end to the fire season. When the next period of hot weather arrives Victoria will again be under threat of fire," he said.
Many grand old trees with hollows were burnt across the landscape, including at Mr McKechnie's property.
FFMV staff assessed hazardous trees and were working an excavator to dismantle the remains of Mr McKechnie's shed throughout Thursday.
Viewing the landscape, the letter 'K' had been marked on dozens of trees. A FFMV spokesperson said this signifies a 'killer tree', meaning it has been deemed hazardous and could fall and kill a person.
The spokesperson said trees could continue to fall for several days, so warned people to take care.
- With Greg Gliddon
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