The extent of smoke emanating from the Longwood fires in the northeast of the state travelled so far on Friday 9 January it caused several false alarm call-outs for fire brigades.
The Dandenong Ranges were dotted with reported fires, bush and grass, on Friday morning, seeing firefighters head out to investigate.
Kalorama-Mount Dandenong Fire Brigade community safety co-ordinator Virginia Porter said as much as it was good people were reporting it, it did put “a bit of pressure on our brigades”.
“We had a number of calls from concerned people who were reporting it as potential fires in the area,” she said.
“All the ridge top brigades had calls out to what were smoke sightings.
“That’s what we’re there for. We deal with it.”
Fires were reported across Olinda, Mount Dandenong, Menzies Creek and Tecoma, all a result of the smoke drifting from Longwood.
Multiple brigades throughout the Hills, including Monbulk, Belgrave, Upper Ferntree Gully and Montrose put out pleas to the community to only call Triple Zero “if you see flames or a column of smoke that is pushing up through the haze.”
Ms Porter said if people were concerned about smoke and the fire risk, they still had time to leave.
“If they’re concerned and they’re worried about it up there, then they need to pack their car and just go out for the rest of the day,” she said.
That is what she and her dog did, headed off the mountain, “finding new places to go to” until well after the cool change.
Volunteers from Kalorama, Olinda and Sassafras have joined the response effort, with more teams ready to be deployed.
“We’ve got everybody, our brigades, on alert and on standby, ready to go away, on strike teams,” Ms Porter said.
“We’ve got a lot of people up there, and they’re going to need them, by the sound of it.
“We’re lucky we’ve got all those volunteers and those people that are up there. They’re doing a brilliant job, and we just hope they all stay safe.”
A wind change is expected later on Friday.
