Vic: Vic firefighters too busy to remember Ash Wednesday

00-00-0000
Vic: Vic firefighters too busy to remember Ash Wednesday

By Adam Morton

MELBOURNE, Feb 16 AAP - Victorian firefighters have had little time to reflect on the20th anniversary today of the Ash Wednesday fires, with most brigades still battling theone-million-hectare blaze in the state's north-east.

Country Fire Authority (CFA) communications manager John Tindall said it was decidedseveral months ago that the risk of summer fires was too great to plan a statewide commemorationof the Ash Wednesday blazes.

Fires on February 16, 1983, claimed 47 lives and destroyed more than 2,400 homes in the state.

Mr Tindall said the CFA decision had proved "prophetic", as more than 3,000 firefighterscontinue to battle the massive fires that have blackened the state's north-east and eastover the past 40 days.

"Even many months ago the conditions were not looking good for this summer," he told AAP.

"I think they actually looked at it and decided the risks were too high for us to plansomething on a big scale.

"They decided to support whatever events were happening locally if that support was requested."

But even regional commemorations were muted.

A spokesman for the CFA's Warrnambool brigade, in the state's south-west, said manyfirefighters from the area were not at home to mark the anniversary.

"There will be firefighters getting together and reminiscing, but because of what elseis going on around the state they are a bit thin on the ground," the spokesman said.

State Emergency Services Minister Andre Haermeyer said it would have been "too biga diversion of resources" to have a major commemoration ceremony.

He said the lessons learned from the Ash Wednesday fires had helped restrict lossesfrom this summer's blazes.

"We've had potentially a number of Ash Wednesdays this summer - days where we've had200 outbreaks on one day," he told AAP.

"Whilst we need to remember those people that died in Ash Wednesday, and there weretwo CFA crews that died, let's also focus on what we've learned since then, how much betteroff we are.

"I'm sure in 20 years time we will look back and say, `haven't we learned a lot fromthe 2003 fires'."

AAP am/gfr/gjr/ts

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES VIC ASH