Three major bushfires are burning out of control in eastern Victoria, as thousands of campers who took to the bush for the long weekend pack up and flee.
"For those people who are camping in the Dargo or Crooked River areas you are not in immediate danger but you cannot travel south. You may not be able to head north either because of some road issues. We are encouraging people to make their way to Dargo and await advice there.Carolyn Searle from the Loch Sport general store told ABC Gippsland"From my shop, I'm looking out my front window and I can see the smoke from the fire. The wind is absolutely terrible," she said.
"I woke up at ten to seven, smelt smoke and the missus said, it looked like there was a fire at Fernbank on the emergency app," Mr Saunders said."It was a bit crazy. I ran straight back inside and rang triple-0. "The spot fires were popping up everywhere. I watched the main water tank, the plastic tanks melt away. The car port is gone, the camper trailer and bits and pieces all went up.
"I looked to the side of my house, it's a mud brick, raw timber house, one of my verandah posts was on fire. We had three units there and it was time for me to go."In Erica, Walhalla, Rawson and surrounding towns, a watch and act warning is in place and the emergency services suggest people evacuate.
Michael Leaney from the Walhalla Star Hotel said the fire was to the south-west of Walhalla and there was no access to the town as the road was cut off."There are very few people here. This fire kicked off early at 5am, so no day visitors have come into town."It's pretty calm here outside of the wind and the crews. There are trucks from all over the district.
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