Above: Smoke blankets the South Gippsland Highway, near Westernport Road.A SCRUB fire that lit up a median strip on the South Gippsland Highway in Lang Lang may have been deliberately lit, firefighters say.
Smoke blanketed the highway last Wednesday and it would’ve been shut to traffic if the wind had turned.
“If the wind was going the other way we would’ve been in trouble,” Lang Lang CFA captain Mark McPherson said.
The fire, about 100 metres east of Western Port Road, was first lit on Tuesday 13 January but again flared up the following day about 11.15am as temperatures soared.
Capt McPherson said CFA personnel from Kooweerup and Lang Lang spent an hour blacking the fire out on Wednesday.
Michael Cobelli, a Cardinia Shire Council employee, said visibility was poor along a section of the highway.
Capt McPherson said it appeared a firebug started the blaze as the ground was damp, which suggested that an accelerant may have been used.
CFA Cardinia group officer Phil Craig said it was a shame that there were people out there willing to put the community at risk.
“It is a bit disappointing, but unfortunately these things happen,” he said.
