By Alesha Capone
Volunteers from the Wyndham and Wyndham West State Emergency Service units travelled to flood and storm-struck areas of the state to provide much-needed assistance last month.
SES Wyndham Controller Laurie Russell said a crew of five members from the unit, along with a general rescue truck, journeyed to Lilydale and Mount Dandenong.
“They were doing chainsaw work, one of the things which stuck with them was the size of the trees – we have very good, first-class equipment – but some of the fallen trees were so big, our chainsaws wouldn’t go through them,” Mr Russell said.
“They were absolutely amazed at the amount of damage to some of the homes, which were completely destroyed.”
Another Wyndham crew made the trip to Gippsland to carry out roadside clearing, arriving back home last week.
Mr Russell said SES volunteers from across the west, including Melton and Hobsons Bay, all helped out in the storm-affected zones, while others remained behind to assist their local areas.
“In general the crews that went up said they had never seen anything like it,” he said.
Mr Russell said that as the extreme wet weather hit the state last month, he was in the SES Wyndham’s headquarters in Werribee, hearing “code red” calls – which means to stop what you are doing and take cover – transmitting on the radio from across the state.
“Our people, all of the crews from Wyndham and Wyndham West, acquitted themselves very well up there, considering what they were faced with – it was a disaster zone,” he said.
