Far East Gippsland Fire 11/3/14

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All fires in far East Gippsland are now contained, almost two months after lightning strikes caused numerous fires in the region.

The Goongerah- Deddick Trail fire was classified as contained by the Department of Environment
and Primary Industries (DEPI) on 10 March.

The Bonang Road is now open to local residents with business interests or other legitimate
reasons to travel the road, but remains closed to through traffic.

Orbost Incident Controller, Andy Gillham said: “The multiple fires this summer have caused
anxiety, angst and inconvenience to the residents of East Gippsland, many of whom now have to
deal with recovery and the rebuilding of lost assets.”

“Our firefighters have had a long, hard summer and I would like to thank DEPI, Parks Victoria,
CFA and our colleagues from other states for their perseverance and endurance fighting these
fires,” he said.

“The support we’ve all had from local businesses and organisations has been tremendous, with
many people working tirelessly to help us get through this.”

The Goongerah-Deddick Trail fire burnt 165,772 hectares, mostly within the Snowy River
National Park and the Club Terrace-Goolengook River fire burnt 8063 hectares in the Errinundra
National Park and State forest areas.

Fires in the Deddick Valley and Goongerah areas have impacted at least 50 separate properties,
with 11 houses, 14 other buildings, pasture, fencing and more than 200 livestock lost.

Vic Roads crews continue to work on improving the safety of the Bonang Road while DEPI crews
remove hazardous trees along the edges of the road.

The base camps at Newmerella and Delegate are packing up and will be gone by the weekend.

For information on fires in Victoria and general fire safety, please contact the Victorian Bushfire Information Line (VBIL) on freecall 1800 240 667. Callers who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech / communication impairment may contact VBIL via the National Relay Service on 1800 555 677.

People should also tune in to their emergency broadcasters: ABC Local Radio, commercial radio and designated community radio stations or SKY NEWS Television.
Information is online at www.depi.vic.gov.au or www.cfa.vic.gov.au