the february 2009 fires - 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission

The February 2009 Fires
1.158 The largest population in the immediate area is Yackandandah (population 2100). The towns most affected
were Gapsted (population 294), Mudgegonga (population 385) and Dederang (population 422). The outer
areas of Stanley (population 689) were also affected. 422
1.159 At around 18:09 on 7 February a fire was reported to the DSE Beechworth depot via a mobile phone call
from the Beechworth DSE office. 423 At around the same time a DSE staff member at the depot received
a phone call from a member of the public reporting the fire. The point of origin was reported to be around
4 kilometres south of Beechworth. 424 As the point of origin was on public land DSE was the control agency
for the fire. 425 The ICC was located at the Beechworth DSE office and at Ovens from 8 February. 426 It was
a joint DSE/CFA ICC.
427
1.160 Personnel at the Ovens, Beechworth and Bright DSE work centres were deployed to the fire. At 18:10
the DSE Incident Controller called back a strike team he had stood down at 18:00 (expecting them to be
deployed to the Kilmore East fire the next day). The team responded to the Beechworth fire, along with
local CFA crews, at an estimated arrival time of 18:30 (earlier in the day a Beechworth DSE task force
had already been deployed to assist the CFA at the Kilmore East fire). 428
429
1.161 Access to the fire was hindered near the point of origin due to sagging power lines. Reports from the
fireground indicated that the fire was moving rapidly under the influence of a strong north, north-westerly
wind, gusting up to 60 kilometres per hour, with subsequent spotting. 430 Initial fire behaviour was not
extreme given that the fire was burning over areas previously burnt in 2002–03. However, the south-easterly
spread of the fire into steep, inaccessible areas with heavy fuel loads led to some extreme fire behaviour. 431
Spotting occurred a ridge ahead of the firefront. 432
1.162 The first attack dozer was at the fire by 19:00. At about this time 2 fixed-wing bombers and a light
helicopter based at Mansfield were deployed. The bombers made several drops until nightfall when
they were stood down. 433
1.163 The fire was burning in a south-easterly direction, through a steep, inaccessible sluiced area containing
heavy, unburnt forest fuels. This limited access for CFA crews. Crews therefore worked the northern flank.
Live low-hanging power lines prevented direct attack, and so indirect attack was undertaken. 434 Heavy
smoke and limited fire line communications during the night made it difficult to estimate where the fire was.
Overnight Victoria Police organised road blocks across the area. 435
1.164 Throughout the night the power outage created significant issues for the operation of the ICC.
Communications, situation reporting and planning activities were constrained, and communication
and coordination were conducted on mobile phones and from vehicles. 436
1.165 During the night the Incident Controller decided that due to the cramped conditions in the Beechworth ICC,
the ICC would be relocated to Ovens from 07:00 on 8 February. That location was better equipped
as a level 3 facility. 437
1.166 At 06:00 on 8 February the size of the fire was estimated to be 20,000 hectares. Access to parts of the fire
was restricted as a major transmission line through the fireground needed to be rebooted. In addition, there
was a large number of lightning strikes across the region, and a fire near Bogong Village that also required
firefighting resources. 438
1.167 The fire was contained after 9 days (16 February), having burnt approximately 31,000 hectares, including
20,000 hectares of forest and park. Areas where fuel had been reduced through burning had a significant
effect on the spread and eventual control of this fire. 439 It was reported contained at 10:30 on 16 March
and Under Control 2 at 11:00 on 25 March. 440
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