Firies fight wild winds

By CASEY NEILL
A CFA strike team was established in the Dandenongs last Wednesday to support SES volunteers inundated with calls for assistance following wild winds.
Five two-man teams in four-wheel drives went out with chainsaws to clear hazards at ground level to free SES crews to handle rooftop incidents.
Sherbrooke Children’s Centre staff arrived at the Upwey centre about 6am Wednesday to discover a tree had caused minimal damage to a verandah.
Four-year-old kinder classes were cancelled because of access issues but childcare was not affected.
A fallen tree suspended trains between Lilydale and Ringwood for more than two hours on Wednesday afternoon and uprooted trees and fallen powerlines completely blocked Old Belgrave Road, Upwey on Wednesday.
Upwey Fire Brigade captain Paul Mather said a large tree came down on Glenfern Road on Wednesday about 7.15am and struck a four-wheel drive with a trailer attached.
“Luckily no-one was injured and the vehicle sustained only minor damage,” he said.
Emerald Secondary College principal Wayne Burgess said the school was without power from about 1.30pm Wednesday until 5pm Thursday, causing significant class disruptions.
Billanook Ward councillor Tim Heenan weathered the wild winds inside a cardboard box in Melba Park, Lilydale. He began a 30-day sleepout to draw attention to homelessness on 1 September.
Kallista resident Susan had no power to her home for more than 30 hours, and many other hills homes and businesses faced a similar situation.
She urged others to keep an eye on their electricity bills for a Guaranteed Service Level (GSL) payment to compensate for power disruptions.
“A lot of people don’t know they’re due for compensation,” she said.
Lilydale SES responded to more than 130 calls between Wednesday and Friday, and Emerald almost 200.
SES Lilydale deputy operations controller Shaun Caulfield said the worst-affected areas were Mt Dandenong, Kalorama, Mount Evelyn and Montrose.
Several Mount Evelyn homes suffered significant damage including a number in Quinn Crescent and Priestly Avenue.
“Thankfully, even though one tree fell onto and destroyed a bedroom it was not occupied at the time and as far as we are aware no serious injuries have been reported from people inside buildings that were stuck by falling trees,” Mr Caulfield said.
He reminded residents that the SES did not deal with fallen powerlines, and urged them to prepare for storms like they prepare for bushfires by tidying and securing loose items and ensuring gutters were clean.