Firefighters battle Kinglake blaze

By Kath Gannaway
FIREFIGHTERS from across the Yarra Valley and Dandenongs were among hundreds of volunteers who poured into Kinglake last week as the fire that started in Glenburn earlier in the week came within two kilometres of the town.
By 9am Thursday, weary Country Fire Authority (CFA), Department of Sustainability and Environment and New South Wales Fire Service crews returning from a 12-hour shift waited in an eerie veil of smoke for buses to bring in relief crews for the 25 CFA tankers waiting nearby.
The smoke billowed from the blaze on Burgan Track in Kinglake National Park on Australia Day, and by 10am wind gusts blew embers into the centre of town.
About a quarter of Kinglake’s 3000-strong population left the town on Wednesday with reports of an imminent ember attack and warnings to residents in the Kinglake Central, Kinglake East and Toolangi areas to enact their bushfire survival plans.
By Thursday evening the fire had intensified ahead of strong wind gusts, major power lines were under threat and the Melba Highway was closed to traffic.
Further warnings were issued and six CFA strike teams and bulldozers were placed in the Kinglake East area to respond to any threat to private property.
“We are preparing for perhaps the most extreme fire conditions of the day with high temperatures and gusting winds,” incident controller Graeme Armstrong warned.
The fire continued to burn on Friday but relief came with wind changes and rain.
Speaking to the 400 people who attended a community fire meeting at Healesville on Friday evening, relieved CFA officers said the fire had been contained.