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The man behind the blaze in Flowerdale that still remains out of control has labelled the incident as an accident and apologised to those affected.
71-year-old local resident, Bill Sangster, spoke with 9 News about the remorse he felt following the realisation he had caused the bushfire on Tuesday afternoon.
“I take full responsibility for what happened, it was a bloody accident … I felt really bad,” Mr Sangster said.
Mr Sangster shared rare insight into how the fire started and commented on the shocking speed and intensity in which it spread.
He explained that he was using an angle grinder on a fence along his property when sparks flew onto the ground before the fire rapidly started spreading.
“The waxy stuff on the tussocks exploded and spread, then the wind came up,” he said
“Then it just took off.
“I didn’t think it would go much further and then it jumped from there [a dam on his property], up to the house.”
Police came and questioned Mr Sangster at his home, commending him on being honest and open about the situation.
At a local community meeting held in Yea on Wednesday evening, Victoria Police
sergeant Michael Mannix confirmed the fire was an accident.
“Please be reassured that we don’t have an arsonist running around, it wasn’t a deliberately lit fire,” Sgt Mannis said.
The fire has not yet been wrangled under control, with emergency services working through the night to drop water from above to contain the spread.
A total fire ban has been declared for the Wimmera and the south west of Victoria.
The ban will last from 12.01am on February 24 and conclude at 11.59pm on the same day.
Under the restrictions of the ban, no fires can be lit in the open air.
Blaze rages into third day
Hundreds of firefighters are continuing to battle a raging grassfire north of Melbourne more than 48 hours after it began, with residents warned about smoke in the region in coming days.
About 900ha of land has burned since the blaze started on Spring Valley Rd in Flowerdale about 2.40pm on Tuesday.
Multiple sheds, cars, livestock and farming equipment have been damaged but no homes have been lost.
Country Fire Authority Incident Controller Brett Myers said more than 100 firefighters were still on the fireground as of Thursday afternoon along with six helicopters and 11 tankers.
Mr Myers said 17km of the 26km fire perimeter had been completed as of 3pm on Thursday.
“During the coming days residents in adjoining communities will notice an increase in smoke as we complete burning out works within the fire perimeter,” he said.
“Smoke may be seen and smelt in nearby communities including Glenburn, Kinglake and Whittlesea.
“These works are predominantly concentrated in the southeastern section of the fire.”
Earlier on Thursday, a Country Fire Authority spokesman said a watch and act was issued at Flowerdale, Strath Creek and Break O’Day.
“The focus of firefighters today is to secure the southern flank of the fire to contain it to the impacted area and prepare for increased fire risk,” he said.
“Good work was done yesterday and overnight on containment of the fire on the western and northern parts of the fire.”
It comes as arson squad detectives arrested and released a 71-year-old Flowerdale man, pending further inquiries.
“The investigation remains ongoing,” a police spokeswoman said.
Local police claim blaze was not deliberate
At a meeting in Yea on Wednesday night, Sergeant Michael Mannix reassured the community there was not an “arsonist at foot”.
“We’ve had a preliminary investigation done, and there’s still an ongoing assessment of that,” he said.
“I can reassure the community that we don’t have an arsonist at foot.
“I can tell you at this stage of the investigation, it’s accidental.
“I want to stress that point.
“Please be reassured, we haven’t got an arsonist running around.”
Sgt Mannix said the blaze was not deliberately lit.
“It’s not a deliberately lit fire,” he said
“Those inquiries are ongoing, but from the knowledge I have, I don’t think that assessment will change.”
Miracle as house survives inferno
A Flowerdale resident can’t believe his home survived an inferno after flames came just centimetres away from burning it down.
Trevor Larbey, 56, rushed home on Tuesday after being notified of the fast-moving bushfire that had surrounded his 60ha property.
He thought the worst but was relieved to find dozens of CFA volunteers safeguarding his corrugated iron home.
“I don’t believe in miracles, but if you look around there’s a lot of stuff that should be burnt that isn’t. I’m pretty happy about that,” Mr Larbey said.
“I didn’t think there’d be anything left.
“We managed to escape Black Saturday and now 2023. We’re fortunate, as we’ve always been worried about fires here. The CFA have done an amazing job.”
Mr Larbey said it was a “very unpleasant thought” to think the fire may have been deliberately lit.
“We’re fortunate to not have suffered the ultimate consequence – lost lives or something stupid like that,” he said.
“The grass will grow back but it could have been very different.”
‘We are literally throwing everything at it’
Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said it was one of the “most significant” fires the state had seen so far this season.
“It’s not contained, it’s not under control,” he said.
“It is critical that people stay across the conditions and stay across the warnings we are pushing out at the moment.”
Mr Crisp said only one home had been “slightly damaged” on Wednesday afternoon.
He was optimistic firefighters had gained the upper hand, with the fire warning reduced to “watch and act”.
“We are literally throwing everything at this particular fire,” he said.
Incident controller David Bowe said he was confident the fire would be contained by 5pm on Thursday.
Fire bans as severe heatwave looms
BOM meteorologist Kevin Parkyn said warm nights and hot days had sparked a heatwave warning, with the mercury to reach the mid 30s between Thursday and Saturday.
The warning, however, is only classified as severe in the state’s southwest, Mr Parkyn said.
“It’s been a short space of time between consecutive heatwaves,” he said.
A cool change is coming on Saturday, but it’s not expected to bring much rainfall.
“We’re only expecting a few millimetres,” he said.
Emergency services will continue to prioritise current fires but warned of fire bans, particularly for northern Victoria.
CFA chief Jason Heffernan said there had been increased grass growth in recent months due to unusually high levels of rain, which amplified the grassfire risk this season.
“No one can afford to be complacent anywhere in the state over the next few days,” he said.
Scars reopened for Flowerdale residents
Lilli Stutchbury said her family had decided to stay and protect her parents horse stud on Spring Valley Rd.
The blaze started about 3km away from them but spread within 1km of their property.
“My parents stood outside throughout the night talking to our horses to help keep them calm … they are safe but on constant high alert,” she said.
“Our plan has always been the same — all horses go into the paddocks with the least grass and trees, their rugs are removed.
“My parents have an elaborate sprinkler system that runs all the time.”
In 2009, the Black Saturday bushfires devastated the area, claiming the lives of 173 people, injuring another 414, burning 2133 houses and killing more than one million animals in total.
Ms Stutchbury said her mum, Nette, and dad, Rob, have lived in the area for more than 40 years.
“During Black Saturday, my mum and dad were home fighting embers hitting their property for days,” she said.
“They couldn’t leave and had no contact with anyone and no power or phone coverage.”
Ms Stutchbury said it “doesn’t get any easier” living in a fire prone area.
“I actually want people to be aware of the pain we go through in rural areas,” she said.
“Just because we don’t lose our houses every time, doesn’t mean it doesn’t rock our world every time.
“We will all be on high alert long after the fires are out and the smoke has cleared.
“My heart will always stop when I get the notification on my app that my hometown is on fire again.”
Ms Stutchbury said primary schools were still open on Wednesday.
“School will run as some of the locals that are in danger need the support of the school to keep their children safe while they fight fires,” she said.
“My eight-year-old son Toby is great in these situations.
“He is helpful moving sprinklers and talking to the horses. He loves watching the choppers going over.”
Authorities have set up a relief centre at Yea Recreation Reserve for residents who have fled their homes.
Originally published as Huge Flowerdale grassfire rages into its third day as the man who accidentally started it apologises
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