Type Status Location Last Updated
Emergency Warning - Fire - Evacuate Immediately Extreme Castella, Kinglake, Kinglake Central, Kinglake East, Kinglake West, Pheasant Creek, Flowerdale 18/09/2024
This Emergency Warning to Evacuate Immediately is being issued for Castella, Flowerdale, Kinglake, Kinglake Central, Kinglake East, Kinglake West, Pheasant Creek.
  • There is a bushfire at Flowerdale that is out of control.
  • This fire is travelling in a south and south east direction.
  • The fire is expected to impact Kinglake Central by 3pm.

If you choose to stay, emergency services may not be able to help you.
If you are located in Castella, Flowerdale, Kinglake, Kinglake Central, Kinglake East, Kinglake West, Pheasant Creek, it is recommended you evacuate immediately and move to a safer location away from the fire.
What you should do:
This Emergency Warning is current for18 September 2024, 2:30pm.
Evacuation after this time is considered life threatening.

After 2:30pm it may be too late to leave. Shelter indoors when the fire arrives - protect yourself from the radiant heat.

Evacuate immediately:
  • Evacuate immediately with all members of your household.
  • When you leave, remember to take your pets, mobile phone and charger.
  • If you are away from home, do not return.
  • Buses have been organised to relocate students from the Kinglake Central and Kinglake East Primary Schools and parents can collect children from Mill Park Sports Stadium.
  • Students from the Kinglake West Primary School can be collect from now until normal pick up time as the fire is not expected to impact this location.

Travel to a safer location. Options include:
  • Relief centres are open at Yea Recreation Reserve and the Whittlesea Show Grounds.
  • The home of family or friends away from the warning area.
  • If you evacuate to a family member or friend's house you should register with [online (if activated) / at an evacuation centre] to help others find you.
Residents in the Kinglake area should leave via Yea Whittlesea Road and head towards either Yea or Whittlesea.

In the car:
  • If you are travelling, do not enter the area. Make a u-turn and travel to safety.
  • Slow down and turn on your headlights. Smoke will make it difficult to see.
If you are unable to leave, you should seek shelter inside:
  • Protect yourself by wearing long sleeves and trousers, made from pure cotton or wool. Wear leather boots and heavy duty leather gloves.
  • Close all exterior doors, windows and vents. Turn off cooling systems.
  • Shelter in a room that has a door and or a window to the outside. The building can protect you from radiant heat. It is critical to keep an eye on what is happening with the fire.
If your home catches on fire:
  • Move away from the rooms that are on fire, closing doors behind you.
  • As soon as the bushfire has passed the house, or the conditions inside become unbearable, you need to get out and go to an area that has already been burnt. Staying inside a burning building will almost certainly end in death.
  • It may still be too hot to remain outside, so you’ll need to seek shelter in another structure or last resort option.
Impacts in your area:
  • The following roads are closed: the Whittlesea Kinglake Road is closed at the Whittlesea Yea Road however parents are still able to access their children at the Kinglake West Primary School. 
  • Healesville Kinglake Road is closed at the Melba Highway
  • Access to Kinglake and surrounding areas is restricted to emergency services vehicles only.
This message was issued by Forest Fire Management Victoria.

The next update is expected by 18/09/2024 03:00 pm or as the situation changes.

Use multiple sources to stay informed:

Accessibility:
The following services can help you, or someone you know, access information during an emergency.
  • To access this information in other languages, call the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450 (freecall) and ask them to call VicEmergency Hotline.
  • If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech/communication impairment contact National Relay Service on 1800 555 677 and ask them to call the VicEmergency Hotline.