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FIREFIGHTERS tackling a large grass fire on the outskirts of West Wodonga that ignited during a lightning storm on Monday waged a war from the air and on the ground all day yesterday in an attempt to bring the blaze under control.
A full force of about 150 firefighters and 25 trucks continued the fight overnight as winds gusted up to 90km/h ahead of a milder southerly change.
After 8pm yesterday deputy incident controller Tony Long said a combination of luck and the firefighting effort during the day was expected to see conditions ease.
“The southerly change has come but it is not as strong as expected,” Mr Long said.
“It was the most amazing effort out there today.
“It was the most difficult terrain and the wind was blowing all day but their work means the fire has not moved any further towards West Wodonga than it was at about lunchtime or even earlier.”
Mr Long said it appeared the worst conditions had passed but police and the evacuation manager had 50 SES volunteers on standby until 10pm if they were needed to begin any doorknocking, starting with the larger lifestyle properties to the city’s west.
He said relief crews had taken over fighting the fire and the outlook for the next 24 to 48 hours would be to bring the fire under control and a large mopping-up effort.
Plunketts and Coyles roads had been closed to traffic late yesterday afternoon to allow firefighters safe access to the fire ground, while residents across West Wodonga were urged to follow the “watch and act” warning; with the nearest threatened property just two kilometres from the fire front.
Wodonga Council set up a relief centre for those in need at The Cube, although no major evacuations were planned or expected to be needed.
Earlier in the afternoon, incident controller Graham Healy had advised all residents in the area bounded by Plunketts Road, Parkers Road and Felltimber Creek Road to be alert, but not alarmed and have their fire plan ready.
More than 600 of those residents attended a community meeting at Victory Lutheran College at 3.30pm.
“The problem is not the size of the fire, it’s where it is and, if it escapes, where it is likely to head,” Mr Healy said.
“We intend to belt the daylights out of this from the air from now until dark.”
Mr Healy said by nightfall it was hoped the strong winds would drop, allowing firefighters on the ground to be more effective.
Dozers were being used to create several fire breaks around the perimeter of the blaze and, in the event the fire broke over the hills and downhill to Coyles Road, crews were prepared to “bomb Coyles Road with foam and retardant till the cows come home”.
“If the fire gets across Coyles Road and onto Hunchback Hill, then we have some problems,” Mr Healy said.
“But it will take a while for it to get there and the weather tomorrow is much more benign.
“There’s no cause to panic, but much cause for you to take heed of the watch and act warning.”
Hopes of getting the fire under control earlier yesterday were dashed despite repeated drops by two large water-bombing planes from Avalon.
During the water-bombing, a number of fires broke out on the northern side of a hill, 4.5 kilometres west of Brewer Road, but were quickly contained.
Mr Healy said while they had expected the Avalon air-bombing crews to “drown” the area, they had dropped at a similar rate to the other aircraft already on scene.
The fire is in steep and rocky country, difficut to access.
On Monday, two CFA trucks had slipped off the tracks, he said.
Mr Healy said no more lightning was forecast and he expected the cooler weather and lighter wind gusts today would help firefighters get the flames under control.
“The problem is, lightning likes high ground and often that is in country that is not very accessible,” Mr Healy said.