A watch and act warning has been issued for a bushfire in Lerderderg State Park.
Forest Fire Management Victoria said the bushfire is at Obriens Road in the Lerderderg State Forest and it is not yet under control.
FFMV said the bushfire is travelling slowly from Obriens Road in an easterly direction towards Cowan Track.
The current warning is issued for Bullengarook, Greendale and Lerderderg residents to monitor conditions, with a wind change expected around 1pm to change the direction of the fire towards Bullengarook.
Firefighters have been able to slow the spread of fire for now, but the situation can change at any time, according to FFMV.
Lerderderg State Park is currently closed, as well as Obriens Road between Greendale-Trentham Road and Bluegum Track.
VicEmergency said campers at Chadwick Campground were told to leave immediately Tuesday night.
A leave immediately warning was issued at 7pm Tuesday for Blackwood, Greendale and Lerderderg, with a leave now warning also issued for Bullengarook and Lerderderg shortly after.
According to VicEmergency, the bushfire is currently eight hectares in size.
Blackwood CFA captain Ross Hall shared to the brigade’s Facebook page that the brigade was paged to support Greendale CFA at 6.15pm Tuesday, after a report of smoke in the area.
“As appliances tried to locate the growing plume of smoke, they moved North of Greendale looking across to the Lerderderg Gorge,” he said.
“Another eight tankers were called as the smoke could be seen from the freeway. Blackwood Tanker drove down Obriens Road and was able to locate the fire at Obriens Crossing.”
Mr Hall said the fire was 150 metres south of the bridge and 200 metres wide when they spotted it.
“It was rapidly moving up the steep rocky slope to the crest of the ridge. Helicopter bombers arrived on scene and began trying to slow the spread of the fire,” he said.
“The fire stayed on the southern side of the river away from Obriens Road.
“The fire has been deemed suspicious.”
Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV) are managing the fire, and Mr Hall said they had bulldozers, appliances and personnel to stop the spread.
“Due to the rough terrain, appliances were not able to get close enough to the fire to actually put water on it,” he said.
“CFA appliances remained on scene as FFMV bulldozers cut mineral breaks through the bush to put in containment lines. FFMV crews with hand tools will put in further fire breaks in terrain too rough or steep for the bulldozers.”
He said helicopter bombers worked overnight in an attempt to supress the fire as much as possible.
“The northerly winds (today) will tend to push the fire south, and the south-west wind change later in the afternoon will put pressure on the north-east flank of the fire,” Mr Hall said.
“For Blackwood, south-east winds may cause the fire to move towards town.”
An Extreme Fire Danger Rating has been forecast for Wimmera, North Central and Central districts today. A Total Fire Ban has also been declared for these districts.
Victorians are reminded that no fires can be lit on a day of Total Fire Ban. This includes campfires, solid and liquid fuel barbecues, and ovens. Check the rules at: cfa.vic.gov.au/can
Details: emergency.vic.gov.au
Victoria Police has been contacted for comment.
