Emergency services have given Greater Geelong and Bellarine community members a warning following recent fires across the region, with some being treated as suspicious.
Victoria Police and Country Fire Authority (CFA) issued a warning on 14 October about the upcoming fire season and reinforced that there would be serious consequences for anyone found to be recklessly or deliberately lighting fires.
Victoria Police Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Guthrie said St Leonards was particularly concerning to emergency services as 16 fires had been reported in and around the area since January.
“We know what bushfires can do; they devastate communities and people’s property and put lives at risk,” he said.
“These fires are not only putting the community at risk, but they’re also putting the first responders at risk, as the fire brigade guys have to go in and actually fight these fires.
“There could be a lot more that we’re not aware of, as the fires may have burnt out by themselves and no one’s reported them, or someone’s seen the fire and put it out and didn’t say anything to us.”
Recent fire incidents included a suspected arson attack at Portarlington Police Station in August, and Mr Guthrie confirmed with the Independent that the investigation into the incident remained ongoing.
CFA acting assistant chief fire officer Wayne Aylmer said there was a “high risk of fires” for the Greater Geelong, Surf Coast and Bellarine regions during the upcoming fire season.
“We’ll likely be in a fire danger period within the next four to six weeks, depending on how that weather goes,” he said.
“If people don’t understand fire behaviour and try to light small fires on the wrong day or during the wrong weather, the fire could potentially take off across the peninsula.
“The risk is higher coming into this summer than what we’ve seen in previous years, so that is a concern to us, and we need to make sure that people are starting to prepare for the fire season.”
