Critical Source For Thousands

The Mount Alexander Bushfire Facebook page was a critical source of emergency information during January's fires.

The page grew by around 3000 members during the Harcourt-Ravenswood fires. It is run by long-serving SES volunteer Wendy Hayes, alongside Newstead CFA Second Lieutenant Hilton Hazeltine, page creator Scott Iskov and Maldon Lions event coordinator Renee Thompson.

The team's emergency response experience and community engagement have been key to the page becoming a trusted source of information.

"People know us and trust that the information is correct," Wendy said.

Wendy and Hilton were asked by page creator Scott Iskov to come on board as administrators when the page was established in 2015.

"I was very selective, but their knowledge is top-notch," Scott said.

Wendy previously managed the local Facebook page Castlemania, which now has more than 18,000 members. During the fires, Wendy managed a staging area in Ravenswood for four days as part of her SES role.

The volume of information alongside the response efforts of admins led to the page adding three new moderators. The team now consists of seven members who coordinate through group messaging.

Comments posted to the Mount Alexander page in January thanked the administrators and moderators for keeping them informed.

Scott Iskov said the most important part of the page's operation was "our communication in the group chat, we didn't want to be double-posting."

The page uses publicly available information, along with sights from SES and CFA members, to inform residents when it is safe to enter or return to an area.

All posts and comments are subject to admin approval to help manage misinformation and repeated content.

"You have to be no nonsense," Wendy said.

As recovery efforts continue, the page remains active, sharing updates with the community. It continues to be managed by the team of seven.

Wendy, who has taken a short break in recent weeks, will return to her role.

"I'm coming back on board with a vengeance," she said.

The page is expected to gradually return to its pre-January focus of sharing fire locations and when it is safe for residents to return.