Firefighters from across the Southern Midlands have been kept busy this afternoon as multiple crews worked to extinguish a bushfire.
The blaze just off Stonehenge Road near Dundee Road in Whitefoord, around 20 minutes from Oatlands, was reported just after 3pm on Saturday.
The Runnymede Volunteer Fire Brigade, one of the local responding units, said the fire was gradually doused throughout the afternoon and eventually extinguished.
“Our crews spent the time blacking out and putting out spot fires,” the brigade wrote online.
“Helicopters were on scene and an excavator was on scene also.”
Footage captured by the brigade shows an excavator removing a burning tree from the ground, which appeared to be burning on the inside and several helicopter flybys to dump water.
“The fire is now in patrol. Well done to our team for a swift response as usual.”
The blaze comes amid high fire danger ratings, occurring just days after recent storm activity resulted in 8,000 ground lightning strikes hitting the state.
“There may be fire in the landscape over the comings days and weeks,” Chief Officer Jeremy Smith said on Thursday.
“When a bushfire strikes, there’s lots of things to think about and having a plan means you don’t have to make impulsive decisions.”
“Decide ahead of time how early you will leave, where you will go and how you will get there.”
“Make sure you have an emergency kit ready, with a torch, batteries and chargers and a radio so you can stay up to date if there are power outages or you can’t get online.”
The cause of the fire remains unknown.
