Community
7 February, 2025
Lightning strikes spark series of fires
COUNTRY Fire Authority (CFA) units were busy last weekend following a spate of fires caused by lightning.
Around Camperdown, there were eight fires reported between Sunday, February 2 and Monday, February 3.
CFA acting assistant chief fire officer Dan Cordon said numerous resources, including helicopters and Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV) cooperating with CFA units.
“There have been multiple fires, because we’re still finding some now,” he said.
“They’re small – they’ve had a very quick response from the fire service in relation to helicopters dumping 9000 litres of water each time onto them, and then being supported by crews on the ground from both CFA and FFMV.”
The fires follow CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan urging Victorians to ensure they are prepared as the fire season continues, with temperatures rising into the high 30s and low 40s in some areas.
On February 2, there were four fires sparked by lightning strikes.
Two fires were sparked at Bullarook Road, Weerite within minutes of each other – the first fire started at around 3.51pm, while the second was reported at around 4.04pm.
Around 20 minutes later, lightning sparked a fire at Pomborneit-Foxhow Road, Pomborneit North.
Derrinallum also saw a fire during the storm event, with a fire along Bass Road reported at around 6.58pm.
The next day, February 3, saw CFA units attend a fire on Blind Creek Road in Bookaar at around 8.37am.
Another three fires were sparked Monday evening when a second thunderstorm swept through the region.
The first fire was at Hannahs Road in Vite Vite North, which started at around 9.06pm.
Another two fires near Derrinallum were reported at around 10.24pm – one was reported along the Hamilton Highway, and the other was spotted on Heards Road.
Mr Cordon encouraged residents to ring Triple Zero (000) if they see smoke as temperatures are set to rise again from Sunday.
The lightning strikes also caused a number of power outages across the state, with a Powercor spokesperson saying almost 50,000 customers were affected.
“Crews worked to replace poles, transformers, powerlines and other electricity infrastructure damaged by lightning, trees and other debris,” the spokesperson said.
“The last customers impacted were restored early on Tuesday morning.
“The hardest hit areas included Geelong and Ballarat, while there were smaller localised impacts right across western Victoria, including in the Camperdown, Mortlake and Terang region.
“All impacted customers were kept up to date on SMS, where we have their details.”
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