A FARMER was burnt when he was engulfed by flames during a major fire at Mincha that was sparked by a lightning strike during the storm that crossed northern Victoria on Tuesday.
Gale-force wind cut a swathe of destruction through the Quambatook area, causing significant damage to farm buildings and tearing apart trees.
Firefighters battled a grass and scrub fire at Mincha that threatened a number of houses before heavy rain helped quell the flames.
A 40 year-old farmer suffered serious burns when the fire tore through 300 hectares of farmland.
The farmer was driving a motorcycle along a road to the fire when wind blew a fireball across the road, causing full thickness burns to his arms and face,
He was treated by paramedics at the scene, conveyed to Bendigo and later transferred to Melbourne in a serious condition.
About 30 sheep had to be destroyed after a lightning strike and strong northerly winds fanned a fire that threatened houses in the small rural settlement and destroyed eight kilometres of fencing.
Incident commander, Captain Steve Mann said that 20 tanker crews took about an hour to control the fire, battling strong winds and lightning strikes before torrential rain quelled the flames.
“It started west of Newstead Road and burnt in a south-easterly direction,” he said.
“I haven’t seen fire move like that since Black Saturday [February 2009]. It burnt to the fences of two houses and singed the plastic weatherboards on another.
“Goodness where it would have gone if the rain hadn’t started. The railway line and channel stopped it in the end.”
Captain Mann said that firefighters had to contend with lightning strikes while they fought the fast-moving fire.
District fire crews were bolstered by Forest Fire Management Victoria crews and a Loddon Shire Council water tanker and grader.
Lightning also started a number of other fires between Tragowel and Macorna, but they were all extinguished by rain before firefighters arrived.
Firefighters worked for another five hours extinguishing remnants of the fire and crews monitored the area again on Wednesday.
A number of other fires were also caused by lightning, but were extinguished in the following rain.
Wind damage was also reported in the Koondrook, Leitchville, Lake Meran, Leaghur, Lalbert and Pine View areas.
Powerlines were brought down near Koondrook.
One of the worst hit storm damage areas was Graeme and Lyn Mann’s property, 11 kilometres north of Quambatook.
Much of the roof was torn from the shearing shed, a tree fell onto a workshop roof and a silo was lifted by the wind and hurled into the side of another silo.
Remnants of trees lie throughout the house yard and farm sheds area and a tractor-drawn spreader was pushed 50 metres sideways.
“It’s the worst storm I’ve experienced in 50 years of farming,” Mr Mann said.
A rainwater tank was lifted off an elevated stand and blown about 10 metres over a tree and a roof. An old corrugated iron tank used as a pump cover was hurled into a trellis beside the Manns’ 93-year-old home, which largely escaped damaged.
Mr Mann was travelling home from Bendigo when the storm hit. He said that his wife was home alone and could see lightning forks striking the paddocks before torrential rain hit.
“It was very frightening for her,” he said.
A large road direction sign on the nearby Quambatook-Swan Hill Road was flattened and tarpaulins were torn from the grain bunkers at Quambatook.
