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January 5th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda 
A aerial firefighting aircraft dumps fire retardant on the Grampians blaze. Picture: Parks Victoria
Source: Supplied
FIREFIGHTERS were last night battling to control a blaze in the Grampians before Saturday, when high temperatures and windy conditions could revive the inferno.
The bushfire, believed to have been started by lightning, was contained yesterday afternoon after a lengthy battle with 150 firefighters and water-bombing aircraft in which is claimed 230ha of forest.
There was never any risk to the public as the fire burnt through 230 hectares of remote bushland in the far southwest corner of the popular tourist area.
But the fire conitnued to billow huge amounts of smoke across a wide swath of Victoria.
Incident controller Graham Parkes said they were confident of conquering the blaze but were aware conditions could rear up.
The region has been given a severe fire danger rating for Saturday, with temperatures hovering above 30C and winds up to 40km/h.
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“The bulk of the hard work has been done.
“Our plan is for this to be in a condition on Saturday where it remains contained. To do that we will need blacked out edge with no burning material,” Mr Parkes said yesterday.
He said the severe fire rating meant extra staff would be put on standby and prepared for any further outbreaks.
Mr Parkes said the focus was on the fire’s eastern flank, where north-westerly winds could see the fire flare up.
“The eastern side of the fire is swampy, it now has a containment line right around it to a good standard.
We will be monitoring the vegetation there closely because it can contain areas of peat, which tends to burn for longer periods, and is difficult to extinguish,” he said.
The CFA says the nearest property is 5km from the fire and as it is burning away from that location, the risk is low.
“Smoke may still be visible from nearby communities and roads including the Henty Highway,” the CFA said in a statement.
The State Control Centre’s Christina Bucci said the fire was contained at 5.44pm, “a little bit earlier than we expected”.
However, she said the battle was not over with crews expected to stay on.
“We’re expecting them to be there overnight and probably for some days and until the fire burns completely out,” Ms Bucci said.
Earlier, she said firefighting efforts had been progressing steadily and crews were confident of bringing the fire under control by nightfall.
Ms Bucci said 140 DSE and Parks Victoria firefighters had been working with three CFA crews on the blaze.
Crews also had 12 water-bombing aircraft on hand.
She stressed the fire was in a remote corner of the park, well away from properties or towns.
Department of Sustainability and Environment spokesman Lee Miezis said firefighting crews would continue working until the blaze was extinguished.
“It is in a very remote area, so it is not threatening any property or townships at this stage,” he said.
“But there’s a strong southerly wind and smoke covering a fairly wide area, from Ararat, right along the major Western Highway.”
Firefighters will be assisted by 17 light tankers, one large tanker and 12 aircraft.
The national park and its neighbouring townships and tourist attractions remain open and people in these areas should monitor any changes in conditions.
Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) state duty officer Darrin McKenzie said the battle to control the fire in the park’s southwest corner had been assisted by cooler weather yesterday.
He said crews had made good progress overnight, with helicopters flying in from Colac and Ballarat yesterday to dump 12,500 litres of water on the blaze.
Mr McKenzie said difficult terrain in the southwestern corner of the park made the inferno tricky to combat from the ground.
“It’s quite steep and rocky, which is presenting difficulties for us in getting to areas in there,” he said.
Mr McKenzie said the fire, billowing smoke over parts of the state’s west, was caused by a lightning strike on Wednesday afternoon.
Although the fire was spreading, there was no risk to communities or holidaymakers.
“All the major attractions of the park are still accessible to visitors,” Mr McKenzie said.
“We’re pretty confident with the mild (weather) conditions over the next couple of days we should be able to round it up.”
Meanwhile a grass fire triggered by a burning car has been brought under control by CFA crews in the state’s north.
It took 20 crews to battle the grass fire on Rockcliff Rd, near Strathmerton, which spread to 17ha late Wednesday afternoon.
CFA spokesman Keith Pakenham said a burnt car was found at what was believed to be the point of origin.
– with Michelle Ainsworth
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