Planning prevented Bunyip tragedy

By Melissa Grant
PRECISE planning helped prevent the Bunyip State Park blaze from causing heart-wrenching tragedy.
With the statewide death toll from the fires expected to reach 200, remarkably it didn’t include anyone affected by the fire that started off Bunyip Ridge Road.
Community meetings were called in Tonimbuk, Labertouche, Drouin West and Jindivick on Friday as firefighters prepared for the worst.
And authorities at the Incident Control Centre (ICC) in Pakenham worked overtime on Friday and Saturday to ensure communities in the firing line were protected.
Acting Sergeant Stuart Halligan, of Pakenham Police, said without such preparation the effects of the inferno would have been much worse. “Planning with the ICC was the ingredient to things working out the way they did,” he said. “As a result of good planning and the way they (CFA) handled it on Saturday, held it up from (spreading) in the Tonimbuk area,” he said.
Lisa Hicks, CFA Brigade Administration Support Officer (BASO) for Cardinia Central, said firefighters battled the blaze on Saturday under conditions akin to Ash Wednesday but added: “We (CFA) were more prepared planning-wise and had more resources.”
About a dozen authorities – including CFA, Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), Parks Victoria, Victoria Police, SP Ausnet and the State Emergency Service (SES) – tracked the fire and planned how to best attack it. The CFA handed control of the fire back to the DSE on Sunday night but warned there was still much work to be done to strengthen control lines.
Cardinia Shire mayor Bill Pearson said the Cardinia Shire had been extremely fortunate when compared with other parts of the State.
“Thankfully the main danger passed with no reported casualties or serious injuries,” he said.“Congratulations and heartfelt thanks to all who fought the fires, provided support or helped in other ways. It makes one proud to live in this area where people still care for their neighbours and work as volunteers for the common good.”