By Tyler Wright
A tree fire in Gembrook in the early morning of Wednesday 24 January is believed to have been caused by lightning which came through from the west of the state.
A CFA spokesperson said three Gembrook CFA units responded to a tree fire on Livio Drive in Gembrook at around 5.48am.
“Incident was deemed safe at 6:06am,” the CFA spokesperson said
Later, at around 7.21am, two CFA units from Nar Nar Goon and Pakenham Upper, alongside FRV, responded to a tree fire on Bourkes Creek Road in Pakenham Upper, a CFA spokesperson said.
The incident was deemed under control at 7:46am and safe at 8:34am.
Emerald local Tracy Dasler captured the lightning strikes from Yarra Glen.
“I drove out to the Yarra Glen to capture Sunrise and possibly Hot Air Balloons, but on my way there I noticed light[n]ing,” Tracy said.
“I decided to kept driving to watch the skies anyway, hoping to capture something good!
“It was very windy, I went to grab my tripod; but it really wasn’t going to work with the wind.”
Deciding to put her camera of the dashboard to capture the lightning strikes, Tracy said she hoped to get “one good photo”.
“I was just amazed with the sky and thinking its actually pretty scary outside and decided to stay in the car,” she said.
“I was in an opened spot in Yarra Glen away from big trees, so felt safe.
“I was very surprised with my photo as I have never had any luck capturing lighting before, probably because I am always in a hurry and no patience.”
Acoording to the CFA, 20 grass and scrub fires occurred which were believed to be caused by lightning, due to a band of lightning which came through from the west of the state.
The fires were believed to be quite widespread, but mostly in the far south west of the state and the west of the state.
It is understood the incidents were small and brought under control quickly, with more small grass fires are expected to be found throughout the day.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast the chance of a thunderstorm in the nearby hills on Wednesday.
Southerly winds of 15 to 25 kilometres per hour are also predicted to become light in the late evening.
