General News
10 March, 2023
Road damage to blame for fire
A grass fire on the roadside of the Hopetoun-Rainbow Road last Friday has caught the attention and interest of many community members, with authorities saying the damaged road is to blame. Leading Senior Constable Tony Clark said the fire at the...
A grass fire on the roadside of the Hopetoun-Rainbow Road last Friday has caught the attention and interest of many community members, with authorities saying the damaged road is to blame.
Leading Senior Constable Tony Clark said the fire at the intersection of Bullock Bottom Road was caused by either a blown tyre or sparks from a vehicles suspension catching the edge of the bitumen.
"You can see the black marks where someone has lost a tyre hitting that (pothole) very recently," he said.
"And you can clearly see where the (shoulder of the road) has been worn away because people are trying to avoid the damaged section of road.
"It has worn away deep enough that it will catch on a vehicles suspension, and the sparks cause fires."
CFA were required to attend the fire at around 1.20pm.
The fire burned an area of dry vegetation approximately 100m long between the road and railway line, but was swiftly extinguished by firefighters.
"I've been doing some travelling and everyone says their roads are bad," said LSC Clark.
"I tell them it isn't that bad, then show them photos of our roads, and they have to agree - our roads are worse."
With last year's increased rainfall, growth on the roadsides is at an all-time high, and had dried over the summer to present a significant fire risk.
The number of damaged roads and high traffic volume over gypsum season has residents wondering which roadside will be next to burn.