IT WAS just a few kilometres between two haystack fires this week as 600 hay bales were involved in a fire at Nanneella and a neighbourhood grass fire threatened a shed and neighbouring properties in Rochester.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Both fires started only minutes apart. At 11.06 am in Nanneella hundreds of stacked bales caught fire and crews from Rochester, Echuca, Timmering and Tongala battled for an hour to bring the flames under control.
CFA district commander Mick Lavery said luckily the bales were in a cleared area and not a threat to other parts of the farm.
“The farmer did the right thing by placing the hay bales in a clear area that had no fuel around it, so when it did catch fire it wasn’t going to go anywhere,” Mr Lavery said.
The CFA expected the hay bales to continue burning for at least 48 hours and Mr Lavery added the district had lost a combined 870 hay bales in just two days.
The second fire began on 4ha behind Jess Dr in Rochester. Believed to have started from a weekend burn-off, with embers being taken by wind.
Ten CFA vehicles arrived at the scene and managed to contain the fire before it affected the shed.
Rochester Fire Brigade Captain Luke Warren said they were able to save several sheds and houses from the blaze, which threatened to spread to a nearby property on Bonn Rd.
The fire was extinguished at around 1pm.
The fires come as a stark warning to residents living in Campaspe Shire of the region’s fire danger period, which begins Monday November 4.
“If you are burning off, ensure you have enough water or fire suppression equipment on hand so that if it does get out of control you can contain it,” Cpt. Warren said.
CFA district 20 commander Michael Masters said there had been reasonable to good grass growth which could lead to large fires during the fire season if people didn't take care.
“Avoid driving vehicles over dry grass, and if you must then make sure you check your mandatory fire suppression equipment is going to work when you need it,” he said.
“The forests are extremely dry and will cause problems if people don’t take care with campfires etc. At this time of year, there is an increased risk of fire escaping, so if you don’t need to burn it, don’t.”
Mr Masters said before lighting a fire in the open air: Check the weather conditions, now and what’s forecast; Have suppression equipment and sufficient people on hand to extinguish the fire; Have a fire break around the intended burn off to reduce the risk of escape.
He also advised people living or visiting Campaspe Shire to look at the fire danger rating for the northern country fire weather forecast district and see if it is severe, extreme or codered.
