The Southern Riverina region is on high alert after a fire which came threateningly close to a community and required significant intervention twice in three days.
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A header fire at Oaklands on Thursday burned about 4000 acres and required considerable effort from firefighters across the district.
The blaze reignited on Saturday due to weather conditions.
Federation Zone and Southern Border Rural Fire Service firefighters first attended the Maxwelton Rd property at 1pm Thursday, calling in assistance from other areas as required.
Berrigan-based Federation Zone Group Captain Greyd’n Davis said the fire came agonisingly close to the township of Oaklands.
There was speculation that evacuations would be required, but Capt Davis said it thankfully did not come to that.
“There was a burnt header, so something’s clearly gone wrong and potentially is a mechanical failure,” Capt Davis said.
The smoke at the outbreak of the Maxwelton Rd fire.
“There was also a wool shed lost the first day and close to 4000 acres has been lost, and it could be more.
“It was watch and act on the first day.
“It got very close to the town about, 4km out of the town or maybe less.
“The Berrigan brigade and Jerilderie sent trucks to help us, and there were multiple aircraft on the first day.
“On Saturday, we also had LATs (large air tankers) from Richmond and local aircraft too.
“There were 25 trucks of our own, five Mid Murray RFS trucks and more single engines or seats, as we call them, including from Lavington and North Albury.
“There was also a fleet of private vehicles and lots of private landowners who helped along with the RFS presence that came together.”
The challenge of the fire was compounded by the wind conditions, which aided the reignition at 2pm Saturday.
“The reignition day was shocking. It was windier on Saturday than Thursday,” Capt Davis said.
“They were tougher conditions and unpredictable winds that were not forecast.
“A fire doesn’t need a lot to get going, but those excessive winds and their unpredictability really fed it.
“For stages you couldn’t see anything in front of you due to the smoke.
“It was very trying and treacherous conditions to work in. Your heart is up in your throat and out of your chest.”
The fire capped off a challenging fortnight for local firefighters, who also responded to an industrial fire at Mulwala earlier in the week and fires near Corowa the week before.
While not immediately evident, Capt Davis said the community was fortunate the damage was not more severe.
“It has now been contained, but I think we will be on patrol for a long time,” he said.
“Thankfully, there were no injuries to anyone I spoke to.
“We had a fair bit of good luck (in containing the fire) to go with a lot of hard work and planning, including with some canola crops that didn’t catch fire as easily.”
Smoke at the fire.
The Maxwelton Rd fire burning.
Crops burning in the fire.
An aerial view of the fire damage.
An aircraft dousing the fire last week.
The smoke generated by the fire.
The Mulwala fire firefighters responded to earlier in the week.
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