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Towns Evacuated
Homes Gutted As
Vict. Fires Rage
MELBOURNE, Monday.—Entire towns have been evacu
ated and scores of homes have been destroyed by-fires in the
Healesville and Dandenong Ranges 40 miles from Melbourne.
The population of 400 of the township of Kalorama was
evacuated this afternoon and many homes are known to have
been destroyed.
Fire danger is increasing
and is exnected to reach its
peak to-morrow.
Two thousand volunteer
firefighters saved the town of
Montrose at the foot of the
Dandenongs when they halted
the fires 200 yards from the
centre of the town.
Six houses were destroyed
and scores were evacuated by
residents who piled cars,
trucks and even horse-drawn
vehicles with everything mov
able.
In the second day of fire
terror:
# The township of Sassa
fras was threatened.
Weary
Only the valiant efforts of
weary firefighters saved com
plete destruction of the town.
I # Fire this morning swept
to within a few feet of the
shops in Olinda, between Sas
safras and Kalorama.
Women and children were
accommodated on football
fields and the golf links while
the men fought to save heir
homes.
Throughout the day, a
thick pall of 6moke hung
over the Dandenongs, reduc
ing visibility and confusing
firefighters.
Late this afternoon the
body of an unidentified man
was found near Mt. Dande
nong after the fire had passed.
Escaped
• The town of St. An
drews, near Hurstbridge, es
caped total destruction to
night when fires swept
through the Kinglake Nation
al .Park.
It jumped the Kinglake
main road, setting fire to
outbuildings in Ninks Road,
St. Andrews.
Cattle were destroyed, out
buildings were gutted and
farm machinery was destroy
ed.
Fire-fighters managed to
divert the blaze, which raced
towards Strathewen, with an
increasing southerly breeze
behind it.
Earlier reports that the
main section of St. Andrews
had been destroyed, were
prompted by the fact that the
outbreak seemed certain to
destroy the houses until a
change of wind occurred.
Ten Homes
• A sudden blaze which
began at Hurstbridge, 22
miles north-east of Mel
bourne, late this afternoon
burnt out ten homes in an
hour before being halted.
Near the basin to-night 40
men with tankers and bull
dozers were trapped after
they had taken a wrong
turning.
However, fire officers, were
confident the men would be
able to fight their way out.
• At Healesville, fire
fighters were controlling the
blaze which yesterday threat
ened the town.
• A few miles away on
Mt. Riddell, the fire was out
of control ami was sweeping
towards the Mt. Donna
Buang range — an area of
heavily timbered country
which suffered badly in the
1939 fires.
Checked
A fireman was taken to
hospital badly burned but no
details were available to
night.
• At Yarra Glen and
Healesville, the fires were
being held in check.
However, there were fears
that if a strong wind sprang
up they could quickly get
out of hand.
Thousands of acres of
forest country are threatened
by the fires.
• The Christmas Hills
area, a few miles west of
Healesville, was still menaced
to-night, but firefighters were
confident they could keep
them in check providing the
wind did not develop.
Army Teams
To-morrow the Army will
have six mobile teams stand
ing by to help.
These units will be self
r ■ itEiined and ready to swing
into any danger area.
To-morrow may yet prove
the worst day of the season.
Century temperatures have
been forecast with fresh
north-easterly winds — al
ways dangerous in Victoria
at this time of the year.
To-morrow has been de- ;
clared another day of acute
fire danger with a ban on
the lighting of all fires in the 1
open. 1
Several milk companies and
oil firms made available big 1
tankers to-day to carry water 1
to the fire areas. I
Worse
The fires are mostly in areas :
without any water supply and '
firefighters had to rely on ,
tankers to fill their Knap
sacks. r
The Secretary of the Coun- s
try Fire Authority, Mr. W.
Allen, said to-night that the v
fire position would be even r
worse to-morrow unless the c
fires could be controlled to- c
night.
He said he was particularly
concerned about the Mt. Rid
del blaze. , '
Several other fires were re- T_
ported in Victoria to-day.
A serious blaze occurred
in the Daylesford District, a £
scrub fire broke out at Hors- 5
ham, in the Wimmera, and
to-night fires were reported ,
on either side of YaUourn, in j
Gippsland.
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