A SERIES of grass fires have kept Wyndham’s CFA crews busy, with some feared to have been deliberately lit.
A total of 10 grass fires have broken out in Point Cook, Werribee, Mount Cottrell, Truganina, Wyndham Vale and Little River since January 6. Most fire activity has been in the west of the city, around Little River and Avalon, where crews have battled three large grass fires.
Wyndham detectives are treating the latest, a fast-moving grass fire in Little River that threatened hundreds of homes on Monday night, as suspicious.
SEE: Little River fire engulfs 350 hectares (pictures)
Forty CFA crews and four aircraft, including the Elvis aircrane, fought to control the blaze that began on Bulban Road. It consumed 350 hectares of grassland and residents in Mount Cottrell, Eynesbury, Mambourin, Quandong and Melton South were put on a watch-and-act alert.
Police also fear an arsonist is to blame for a blaze that burned 50 hectares of grassland at Little River on January 6. The arson squad has spent days scouring the site on Little River-Ripley Road.
A separate grass fire in a quarry next to Avalon Airport on Thursday was contained within 30 minutes.
Werribee CFA captain Michael Wells said smaller grass fires in suburban Wyndham – on Aviation Road, Point Cook and Shaws Road, Werribee – had come as a shock to emergency services.
“We haven’t had significant grass fires in Werribee for several years. But this time we’ve had the rain, the growth, and the big thing to remind people is that while essentially we’re a suburb of Melbourne, there’s still the urban-rural interface . . . most of Werribee is surrounded by grassland, and grassland will destroy property.”
Mr Wells urged residents living near fire-prone areas to check their prevention and escape plans ahead of a forecast 39-degree scorcher tomorrow.
The CFA will stage a bushfire preparation meeting at Wyndham Vale Community Learning Centre, 86 Manor Lakes Boulevard from 2pm Saturday. More details: 8746 1400.
