TOXIC LOVE

IIn February, Victoria's extreme fire conditions triggered a total fire ban. Fire Commissioner Craig Lapsley said the threat was on par with Black Saturday. Firefighters battled dozens of blazes in battling multiple blazes in the La Trobe Valley. On Sunday February 9, high winds fanned a grassfire from the side of the Strzelecki Highway in the direction of the Hazelwood Power Station and its open cut mine.

 

"The ABC report on the fire said "For the next four weeks, the Morwell open cut fire raged out of control. Eighteen firefighters were taken to hospital because of their exposure to carbon monoxide. Initially, residents were told to stay indoors to avoid the smoke and that short-term exposure to these high levels of small particle pollution was not unsafe."