Ablaze: Fire raced quickly across open grassland near Indigo Valley Primary School. Fire bosses say the blaze quickly became virtually impossible to control.
No amount of planning could have stopped the Barnawartha blaze taking off.
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That was the brutal assessment in the CFA’s Wodonga incident centre as the decision was made before 5pm to evacuate people in the Leneva area.
Paul King said the fire’s size, speed and strength was exactly what authorities expected would happen should a blaze get away in such extreme conditions as Sunday
“You can plan all you like but firefighters just can’t physically keep up with it.”
The fire started just beside the northern side of the Hume Freeway, near Harvey Lane, about 1pm.
While the cause would be investigated, that was not the priority for now.
“There’s bigger fish to fry,” Mr King said.
COOL CHANGE: Firefighters attend to burning logs on the Beechworth to Wodonga Road as the weather cools down. Picture: JAMES WILTSHIRE
Never stopped: Aircraft including this helicopter assisted a large contingent of firefighters drawn from across the region in tackling the fire. Pictures: MARK JESSER
Close watch: A property owner readies himself for the Barnawartha fire as it ran down the Indigo Valley on Sunday afternoon, threatening several communities.
