{"id":125757,"date":"2026-01-11T16:21:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T05:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/mild-winds-still-a-danger-as-otway-fire-warnings-ease\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T09:29:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T22:29:24","slug":"mild-winds-still-a-danger-as-otway-fire-warnings-ease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/mild-winds-still-a-danger-as-otway-fire-warnings-ease\/","title":{"rendered":"Mild winds still a danger as Otway fire warnings ease"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Warnings around the Otway fires were downgraded on Sunday as conditions eased, but fire authorities say even mild coastal winds remain capable of driving further fire spread.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking at a community meeting in Colac today, Colac Incident Control Centre\u2019s Dale Antonysen said crews were continuing to work toward tightening warning areas as containment lines improved.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re in the process of looking to collapse those warnings and advice into a much tighter space against the fire,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe do want people to be informed and prepared to leave, but we will be looking to reduce the warnings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_178131\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-178131\" style=\"width: 603px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-178131\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/612431290_18087954560280615_5890579953881609512_n-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"603\" height=\"804\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-178131\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A firefighter offers water to a koala rescued from fire-affected bushland during the Otway fires, as crews continue to battle blazes across the region. Photo: AIREYS INLET FIRE BRIGADE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Four fires remain active in the Otway Ranges, including in Carlisle River, Kennedys Creek and the Cape Otway area. Collectively, the bushfires are more than 5,000 hectares in size and have not yet been brought under control.<\/p>\n<p>More than 300 firefighters remain on the ground, supported by 13 aircrafts, with back-burning operations to take place in the coming days to help contain the fire.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the communities surrounding the fire area were evacuated on Saturday as strong winds contributed to the spread of the blaze.<\/p>\n<p>This afternoon, some have been able to start thinking about returning home, with emergency advice back to Watch and Act level. But with the Carlisle River river fire travelling in a north-easterly direction towards private properties in Irrewillipe, residents in surrounding towns have today been evacuated.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_178133\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-178133\" style=\"width: 604px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-178133\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/613581891_10237710617211925_4602097973967193611_n-1021x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"604\" height=\"606\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-178133\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">More than 5,000 hectares of bushland in the Otway Ranges has impacted by the fires. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_178142\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-178142\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-178142\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/613770608_1323793643127563_6879787827852159164_n-1024x994.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"582\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-178142\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">More than 5,000 hectares of bushland in the Otway Ranges has impacted by the fires. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_178139\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-178139\" style=\"width: 603px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-178139\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/612437710_10237710613211825_8273177089063265183_n-1020x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"603\" height=\"606\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-178139\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">More than 5,000 hectares of bushland in the Otway Ranges has impacted by the fires. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Despite the downgrade in some areas of the Otway Ranges, emergency management commissioner Tim Wiebusch said the Otway fires remain highly sensitive to wind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven in the mildest of winds for these very large fires will still cause concern,\u201d he said from the Bendigo Incident Control Centre on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Otway fires \u2013 those coastal breezes \u2013 even 25 to 30km\/h is enough to keep pushing those fires along.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Firebombing along the Otways continued into Saturday evening, as crews worked to bring the fires under control.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re throwing everything at it to try and contain these fires,\u201d Wiebusch said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_178143\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-178143\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-178143\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/612502079_122160729830851504_4075125352452772629_n-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-178143\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">In Harcourt, near Bendigo, 47 homes and three businesses have been destroyed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_178144\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-178144\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-178144\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/612804769_1192928463024560_2801006691249329739_n-1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-178144\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">In Harcourt, near Bendigo, 47 homes and three businesses have been destroyed. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>More than 350,000 hectares of land has been burnt out across the state, a figure expected to rise over the next 24 hours as firefighters battle a total of 32 fires. Authorities have warned the more complex fires are expected to burn for weeks.<\/p>\n<p>In Harcourt, near Bendigo, 47 homes and three businesses have been destroyed.<\/p>\n<p>While acknowledging those losses, Wiebusch said crews remained focused on the scale of what had been protected.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe feedback we\u2019re getting from our crews in the field has been really positive around morale,\u201d Wiebusch said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_178140\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-178140\" style=\"width: 599px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-178140\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/612915214_1352859473542730_5050897475107205224_n-1024x478.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"599\" height=\"280\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-178140\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Local volunteers take a well-deserved break. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_178134\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-178134\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-178134 \" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/614273063_1304827235011455_7305749829308240773_n-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-178134\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of the Barwon Heads Fire Brigade joined volunteers across the Mount Mercer fire.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe teams feel like they\u2019ve been able to achieve some fantastic saves.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, sadly we have lost 47 homes and three businesses, but they\u2019ve saved so many more and, in particular, in the main street of Harcourt itself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Crews are still working on the Mount Mercer fire near Meredith but are expecting to have the blaze contained by the end of the day on Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Warnings around the Otway fires were downgraded on Sunday as conditions eased, but fire authorities say even mild coastal winds remain capable of driving further fire spread. Speaking at a community meeting in Colac today, Colac Incident Control Centre\u2019s Dale Antonysen said crews were continuing to work toward tightening warning areas as containment lines improved. [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/mild-winds-still-a-danger-as-otway-fire-warnings-ease\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":125758,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-125757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mild winds still a danger as Otway fire warnings ease - Geelong Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Otway fire warnings were downgraded on Sunday, but emergency authorities warn even mild winds could push fires further across Victoria.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/mild-winds-still-a-danger-as-otway-fire-warnings-ease\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mild winds still a danger as Otway fire warnings ease - 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