Grass fueling fear as Lara meets on threat

Andrew Mathieson
A LARA fire captain fears deadly blazes that tore through the rural township could be repeated 40 years on this summer.
CFA captain Greg McManus, who was yet to be born at the time of the 1969 Lara tragedy, has been inspecting an old map of the fire path of one of the fastest moving grass and scrub fires in Victoria’s history.
The “frighteningly fast fire” killed 17 people as it spread from Bacchus Marsh Road to Corio Bay in just over an hour.
Mr McManus said expectations a wetter-than-expected winter would dampen fire risk were wrong amid predictions of soaring temperatures this summer.
“We don’t want people to be lulled into a false sense of security,” he said.
“This year there is more grass around and more heavy fuel load than there has been for a lot of years.
“While it might be green now, it will only take a week of warm weather to dry up.
“The intensity of grassfires is going to be far and above what we’ve seen for years and years because there is so much grass around.”
He warned that stubble residue from crops and empty paddocks without stock could fuel dangerous fires.
Mr McManus said many fire hazards could impact on five-acre lots on the northern and western boundaries of Lara.
“Unfortunately, we still get a lot of numbskulls also throwing cigarettes out of their car, which is how a lot of fires start,” he said.
Mr McManus said residents had been invited to attend a community bushfire safety meeting on Saturday morning at Lara Community Centre.
He believed bush property owners had heightened awareness of fire risks since the Black Saturday disaster on February 7.
Lara fire brigade sent 12 trucks to Kinglake and other bushfire disaster zones where crew members saw “some terrible things” despite not fighting a blaze.
“There are a lot of people who think if they’re not in the bush proper that they’re not in danger,” Mr McManus said.
“But we know fast-moving grass fires are a particular danger because they move a lot faster than any fires in the bush.
“If something starts one or two kilometres, on the other side of Lara, it can literally be at the house within minutes.”