“It’s really about getting into some really difficult-to-access country. That’s a big ask for our crews, it can be slow and tough work,” Heagerty said.
“Getting them in there safely today and working on the containment of that fire is important for us.”
Smoke from the Gellibrand fire on Saturday afternoon.Credit: Nine
Firefighters would take advantage of the increased moisture in the air and reduced winds to make sure the fire was fully contained, Heagerty said. For residents, the safest option was to leave now because there was one major road in and out.
“The secondary part to that guidance is that we know that’s an area of the state that people travel to regularly as tourists, and so [we’re] reinforcing that people should ideally be avoiding that area today until that situation changes,” he said.
The Great Ocean Road was open on Sunday morning but with traffic management points in place.
North-west of the region, near Victoria’s border with South Australia, residents of Chetwynd and Kadnook were warned it was not safe to return. A warning for Connewirricoo was downgraded.
Heagerty said given a change in weather conditions there, too, crews would be back on Sunday to ensure the fire was fully contained and start assessing the damage.
A fire engulfed a blue gum plantation in Kadnook on Saturday, and was still out of control on Sunday morning.
Vic Emergency warned that strong winds were expected through most of Sunday, while the fire’s southern section was in the Ganoo Ganoo Bushland Reserve west of the Chetwynd River.
Several other bushfire advice warnings remained in place in Victoria on Sunday morning.
The bushfires meant many Victorians woke to the smell of smoke. Vic Emergency warned that the air quality in Altona North, in Melbourne’s west, was recorded as “poor” on Sunday morning.
Anyone with health concerns because of the smoke should seek medical advice, Vic Emergency said.
“Yesterday was an illustration of what we could see for summer,” Heagerty said.
“People need to get their heads into the game that summer is here … [they] need to have fire plans ready to go, and they need to be aware that things can change pretty quickly, particularly when things are as dry as they have been.”
More wild weather was expected to bear down over the state’s north-east, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning a strong cold front could lead to heavy rainfall, flash flooding and damaging winds.
The State Emergency Service had already fielded calls for help, Heagerty said.
The areas under threat include Seymour, Wodonga, Wangaratta, Corryong, Bright and Falls Creek, with six-hourly rainfall totals of up to 80 millimetres predicted from Sunday morning.
Some areas could receive 100mm of rain in 24 hours, the bureau said, while peak wind gusts of about 110km/h have been buffeting the north-east and central ranges.
Mount Buller recorded a wind gust of 132km/h shortly after 6am on Sunday, while Mount Hotham recorded a 122km/h gust after 7am.
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