Vic: Firefighters battle East Gippsland blaze

AAP General News (Australia)
12-19-2003
Vic: Firefighters battle East Gippsland blaze

MELBOURNE, Dec 19 AAP - Weather conditions are again hampering firefighters trying
to contain a bushfire which has burnt more than 60 hectares near Cann River in East Gippsland.

Rain and limited visibility were making conditions tough for crews fighting the fire,
which started 25 km north of Cann River in Victoria's east on Wednesday.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) said it hoped the fire would
be contained later today.

"Showers and limited visibility made tracking dangerous and slow last night, but that
work will recommence as soon as the conditions improve today," Incident Controller Steve
de Voogd (de Voogd) said.

"The emphasis today is on consolidation of fire lines, blacking out and access to the
creek, where we will try to use pumps and hoses to assist with our operations.

"The fire is in very difficult terrain, but we're making progress slowly and we hope
to have it contained late this afternoon."

Light showers in the area overnight were are not enough to put the fires out, a DSE
spokeswoman said.

AAP kh/ce/cjh/

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES VIC DAYLEAD

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