Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester has paid tribute to CFA volunteers and other fire fighting crews still battling a major bushfire south-east of Rosedale.<\/p>\n
While more than 10,000 hectares of land have been burnt, including 2000 hectares of valuable pine plantations, Mr Chester said the situation could have been worse.<\/p>\n
\u201cTackling this fire in some of the worst bushfire weather conditions we\u2019ve experienced since Black Saturday was a huge effort and I want to thank all fire fighting personnel and the support crews who made it possible,\u201d Mr Chester said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition to local CFA volunteers, DELWP fire-fighters, HVP staff, private contractors and a number of aerial assets have been directed at controlling the blaze and minimising losses.<\/p>\n
\u201cSafety is always the highest priority and I\u2019m pleased that there has been no loss of life or major injuries despite the seriousness of the situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve learnt a lot as a community since the devastating loss of lives on Black Saturday and it was good to see families evacuating from the impacted area when conditions deteriorated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Chester urged people to continue keeping an eye on the weather conditions and watch for any further advice from emergency authorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe weather has been much cooler and calmer since Friday\u2019s searing temperatures and the strong winds,\u201d Mr Chester said. \u201cWhile there is no immediate threat to the community, we need to remember the fire is not yet under control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Chester has also encouraged locals to remain vigilant and fire aware over the summer months.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s too early to comment on the cause of this fire, but authorities regard it as suspicious and investigations are continuing,\u201d Mr Chester said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFires can start naturally, by accidents and neglect, or the deliberate action of arsonists. We all need to make sure we are fire smart by minimising the chance of accidental outbreaks from campfires, burning off, or the use of machinery and tools.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a long, hot summer ahead of us and drought conditions across parts of Gippsland have left us exposed to an increased risk of fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can help prevent arsonists by remaining vigilant and reporting any suspicious activity in our community. Write down the details of vehicle number plates or any information that might help police track down the imbeciles who take perverse enjoyment from deliberately lighting bushfires.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a cowardly act which threatens lives and properties and we need to help police by keeping a close watch in our own communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
To report illegal activity, call Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester has paid tribute to CFA volunteers and other fire fighting crews still battling a major bushfire south-east of Rosedale. While more than 10,000 hectares of land have been burnt, including 2000 hectares of valuable pine plantations, Mr Chester said the situation could have been worse. \u201cTackling this fire in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":110558,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[2259],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/darrenchester.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110557"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/darrenchester.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/darrenchester.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darrenchester.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darrenchester.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/darrenchester.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darrenchester.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/darrenchester.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darrenchester.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/darrenchester.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}