MAJOR CFA EXERCISE IN THE COBAWS THIS SUNDAY

In recent years, there have been several major fires in the Cobaw Ranges resulting in some serious losses, especially to land and property.
On Sunday 21st October, the CFA will be conducting their first large exercise for the fire season when they undertake a test of the revised Cobaws Pre-Plan for the initial bri-gades to respond to that area. So, don’t be alarmed if you see a large number of fire fighting vehicles in the area on the day.
This will involve the primary initial response brigades being Newham and Woodend, as well as other neighbouring brigades, including Benloch, Hesket-Kerrie, Lancefield and Pastoria. IIn fact, it will involve up to twenty fire fighting vehicles from the various brigades.
“The Cobaws is a large and difficult area to operate in”, said Mt Macedon Group Media Officer and Woodend Captain Mike Dornau. “It is heavily forested and many of the tracks are extremely difficult to access.
“This large CFA exercise will assist local brigades to test their readiness and re-sponse, as well as test our plans for the area.
“One likely scenario to be tested will be a lightning strike in a very remote area, where initial response brigades will be tasked with locating the fire and then setting up con-trol and action plans as further brigades and strike teams are activated.”
The exercise is planned to run from 8am until midday and will cover the entire Cobaw Ranges area, so residents and visitors are asked to be aware that a number of fire fighting vehicles will be using the roads and tracks in the area.