‘Very, very close to houses’: Fire threatens homes in Sunbury

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Firefighters on the ground and in the air battled a blaze which threatened homes in Melbourne’s north-west on New Year’s Day.

The fire on Canterbury Avenue, Sunbury, burnt through 100 hectares and threatened homes on The Parkway, Enterprize Avenue and Settlers Way.

State Control Centre spokesperson Luke Heagerty said the fire was “very, very close to houses”.

“We may see the fire reaching back fences,” he told 3AW’s Nick McCallum.

Residents in the area were advised to leave.

The fire is now burning withing containment lines and there is currently no threat to residents.

“Our advice is to leave now and head towards Sunbury along Racecourse Road, that’s the safest option.”

Sunbury resident Sue said she and her husband had decided to follow the recommendation of emergency services leave their home.

“To paint a picture for you, all the houses in the area are on 2.5 acre blocks, so it’s semi-rural,” she said.

“The CFA are doing a fantastic job and they’ve lined the outer perimeter fence line of the houses ready to fight.

“We’ve had the water bombing helicopter bombing for about two hours.”

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Image (above): Cam Buchanan