Vic police to crack down on arsonists

12 Nov 2009, 11:58 am   -   Source: AAP
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Victorian police will this month start patrolling bushfire-prone areas for arsonists.

Victorian police will this month start patrolling bushfire-prone areas for arsonists.

In the state's east, police will be drawn from across Gippsland to keep an eye on high-risk areas.

Local officers will carry out similar operations elsewhere in the state, a police spokeswoman said.

"It is the case that police that work in fire danger areas would be conducting similar operations to Mountain Ash, because the bushfire season has begun," a Victoria Police spokeswoman told AAP.

Operation Mountain Ash aims to identify and deter arsonists and reduce the opportunity for fires to be lit.

Senior Sergeant Bruce Klinge from Bairnsdale police said officers would take a zero-tolerance approach to breaches or offences involving fires.

They would also crack down on unlawful camp fires and urban fires that place bush areas at risk, he said.

Snr Sgt Klinge said several fires in eastern Victoria in recent years had either been deliberately lit or deemed suspicious.

Eleven people died in Gippsland on Black Saturday as a result of fires that started at Churchill and swept through townships including Callignee, Koornalla and Jeeralang Junction.

"The recent devastating fires in eastern Victoria resulted in severe property damage, considerable loss to natural resources and the loss of 11 lives," Snr Sgt Klinge said in a statement.

"We can't be everywhere so we really need the eyes and ears of the community to assist us fight the fires.

"This is an issue that affects the whole community. Any information we receive will be acted on."

A 23-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been charged with lighting fires that razed more than 30 homes in Gippsland the week before the February 7 bushfires.

Arson is also believed to be the cause of the Churchill fires in Gippsland and the Murrindindi blaze that destroyed Marysville on Black Saturday.

Snr Sgt Klinge said anyone who noticed suspicious behaviour or was aware of an unlawful fire being lit should contact local police or Crime Stoppers.

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