‘Marathon — not a sprint’: local strike teams deployed to statewide fires

The Deakin Group Strike Team 2060 and Northern Campaspe Group Strike team 2070 were among many teams to support the efforts, being deployed early afternoon on Friday.

Campaspe remained relatively safe with only minor incidents – a grass fire in Echuca west on Friday and a house fire in Echuca on Saturday.

Both were quickly contained by local crews, allowing units to be dispatched statewide to assist with more threatening fires.

CFA District 20 mobilised four strike force teams from across Campaspe to combat a rapidly spreading grass fire near Cobram at Yarroweyah, while simultaneously tackling an expanding blaze at Ravenswood, south of Bendigo.

District 20 commander Paul Elso and assistant chief fire officer Mick Sporton said it was an “extraordinary effort” by the brigades to jump into action and thanked the volunteers and the wider community for their assistance in the fight.

“As predicted yesterday was an extremely challenging day across the state,” Mr Elso said.

“Locally we did extremely well. We worked with community, prevented ignitions and had very few responses ourselves in our own footprint – so that was excellent.”

Mr Elso said the efforts continued throughout the weekend, with a Saturday team deployed to Yarroweyah and Ravenswood by 5am that morning, as well as another three strike teams on Sunday morning and two on Monday.

He emphasised that while major efforts focused on the largest fire zones, the community could be assured the region remains well-supported with resources, including an additional 15 tankers strategically positioned across the area.

“When we’re out of the area, we move things around. You might see a truck in your community that’s got a different name on it – rest assured, I’ve got plans ‘b’, ‘c’ and ‘d’,” he said.

Mr Sporton thanked the continued efforts of all the volunteers giving their time to fight for the state, and thanked the employers and families of those volunteers.

“The other part of this joint response is community – and we couldn’t have done it without everyone working together to make this successful,” Mr Sporton said.

“It’s very important to note that this was down to campaign mode.

“With large fires in the landscape in large parts of the state, this is going to be a large-scale commitment by all volunteers and staff throughout CFA.

“This is a marathon - not a sprint.

“Stay safe everybody and keep doing a wonderful job for the state.”

Photos from the field