CFA strike teams from across Casey departed from Dandenong on Sunday to assist firefighters battling raging bushfires throughout Victoria.CASEY firefighters were stretched to capacity this week as the city sweltered through record temperatures.
CFA crews battled raging bushfires across the state and a number of smaller blazes closer to home at the weekend, fuelled by 40 degree plus heat and strong wind.
Volunteers are bracing themselves for worsening conditions as the mercury is again expected to tip more than 40 degrees today (Thursday).
The chaos began on Friday when heat and high winds fanned a grass fire in Cannons Creek.
It is believed hot embers from a previous burn off ignited the blaze, which took CFA crews more than an hour to contain.
Saturday saw no relief for firefighters as the state recorded its hottest January weekend in six years.
CFA strike teams from across Casey departed Dandenong on Friday and Sunday to help fight devastating bushfires in the besieged towns of Erica, Yea and Halls Gap.
Narre Warren CFA Captain Noel Collins said crews had been relieving firefighters in the small Gippsland town of Erica since Friday, battling extreme temperatures and powerful wind.
“The brigade is heavily committed. We have 20 personnel on a rotational basis going back and forth to Erica and have also had people at Yea,” Capt Collins said.
“Members are very worn out and say it is extremely hot and unpredictable.
“They have been doing a lot of containment work but fire broke out around the containment lines on Sunday,” he said.
Capt Collins said crews returned from Erica on Tuesday but were warned they might be needed today or at the weekend if conditions worsened.
“Things are very flat out.
“We are still carrying out our everyday jobs here and supporting other brigades as well,” he said.
Berwick CFA Captain Alan Boyd said the brigade had sent a tanker to Yea on Sunday and a strike team leader left for Erica on Monday.
Casey police also have joined firefighters in Victoria’s bushfire ravaged regions, with members on standby for further outbreaks.
Region 5 (South East) Emergency Management Inspector Ken Dainton said police dispatched one unit from Endeavour Hills at the weekend to assist efforts in the Latrobe district.
"Members from Casey and Cardinia stand in readiness to assist country districts with current bush fire concerns,” Mr Dainton said.
"However, members at Casey and Cardinia must also ready themselves to assist the Country Fire Authority with potential fire outbreaks at the ruralurban interface, if fire becomes a threat to areas within Cardinia and Casey,” he said.
Electricity supplier SP AusNet struggled to cope with the weekend heat as residents blasted the air conditioning to capacity in a desperate bid to keep cool.
More than 3000 Cranbourne residents were left without power on Sunday afternoon after a transformer fuse caught fire because of the massive increase in demand.
SP AusNet Media Adviser Emma DaniellEdwards said crews worked swiftly to restore power to affected residents within 20 minutes.
“We would like to thank the community for its support and patience,” she said.
“The heatwave across the state had people running their air conditioning all weekend.
“In light of this we ask that with continued searing temperatures forecast, people take sensible steps to reduce demand and their energy bills.”
Cranbourne CFA Fire Officer Ian Glass also thanked Cranbourne North residents who helped to extinguish a fire that started after Sunday’s transformer explosion.
“Oil spewed out of the transformer and a few surrounding trees caught fire.
“Residents used a garden hose to extinguish the fire. They did a great job,” he said.
