Crews win tense battle

By Casey Neill
THE CFA declared Upwey’s Nixon Road blaze safe on Friday afternoon following a tense four days.
Upwey, Belgrave, Belgrave South, Belgrave Heights and Tecoma residents had remained on alert since the fire broke out in Birds Land Reserve about 2.30pm on Monday 23 February.
The fire burnt through more than 350 hectares of private property and parkland.
Lilydale CIU’s Leading Detective Senior Constable Phillip Russell said the fire was accidental, indicating a hay mower may have been to blame.
A Shire of Yarra Ranges spokesman was quick to dampen rumours a council worker was instructed to slash the area and had sparked the blaze.
He said no council workers were involved and the ignition point was not on shire land.
Road blocks on Glenfern, Belgrave-Hallam and Wellington roads caused gridlock on Burwood Highway well into Monday evening as hundreds raced to leave the mountain.
Knox Council enacted its Municipal Emergency Co-ordination Centre (MECC) at Knox Regional Netball Centre in Ferntree Gully as the fire took hold.
Six teachers evacuated 16 Belgrave South Primary students to the stadium as the blaze came within two kilometres of their Colby Drive school.
Principal Fran Luke said the kids were “fantastic”.
“They were just so calm, because the staff were so calm,” she said.
Knox Council, Red Cross, Salvation Army, Department of Human Services, St Johns Ambulance and Victoria Police representatives were on site to provide support to evacuated residents.
More than 350 people registered with the Red Cross and 100 stayed overnight.
The council also set aside Ferntree Gully Recreation Reserve as a staging point for the brigades battling the flames.
CFA teams used controlled burns to consolidate containment lines on Wednesday ahead of Friday’s predicted extreme weather.
On Thursday night New South Wales Rural Fire Service and Department of Sustainability and Environment crews extinguished hot spots identified using aerial infra-red photography.