A burn-off which began on Wednesday 2nd December in Wild Dog Valley at the site of a cleared blue gum plantation got out of hand today after burning throughout the night. No wind and cool temperatures prevented the fire moving faster than it did which was really quite slow over the day but there is a house at the top of the hill to the right of the fire area and the CFA were taking no chances with winds predicted over the next few days.

 

After the plantation had been cleared in the winter there was much debris left behind on the ground which included tree branches and similar vegetation which had dried out and able to burn easily in what started off as a slow burn but clearly became a problem with eight vehicles responding to the situation late this afternoon with some leaving and only five on site at 7pm. Smoke can clearly be seen coming from the a large area on the property but the areas water bombed by the helicopter show much less smoke than earlier.

Last night the fires were clearly visible in the night with flames in patches throughout the eastern side and central part of the property. This morning the smoke was still evident, but the fires appeared to be smaller. Over the course of the day they spread further across the property until the CFA turned up and turned things around. Well done guys.

A series of 6 slides shows a helicopter approaching and dumping water on one of the fires.

The helicopter comes in with a full load of water to dump on the fires
The helicopter comes in with a full load of water to dump on the fires
Just about in position
Dumping the water on the fire
On its way
Previous slide
Next slide
Coming in low to drop water on the fire
The helicopter returned to a dam for water on the far side of the hill
Dropping down to the dam for more water
Trucks at top of hill preventing fire escaping to dairy farm next door. CFA members checking the fire area in orange fire suits