Cameron details Melbourne bushfire scare
BRT rookie Aaron Cameron reveals Melbourne bushfire scare
Blaze broke out in Melbourne's outer east after fire in the area
Cameron's family prepared to evacuate home after Saturday race
Aaron Cameron has revealed how close a blaze in eastern Melbourne came to his family home amid his maiden solo Supercars weekend.
The 25-year-old Victorian contested his first solo round at the MSS Security Melbourne SuperSprint with Blanchard Racing Team.
Cameron was drafted in to replace Aaron Love, who departed the Ford team on the eve of the Albert Park.
The rising star was already up against it, managing the pain of a broken toe injured in an unfortunate go kart truck accident.
Cameron powered on and got stuck into the action, but unbeknownst to the young gun as he prepared for Saturday’s race, there was more stress to come.
A blaze broke out near the suburbs of Montrose and Kilsyth in Melbourne's outer east after a fire in the area overnight. The fire destroyed one home and significantly damaged another, with 200 firefighters battling the blaze near Mount Dandenong that started on Saturday afternoon.
The fire was believed to be under control, before a downburst of wind around midnight quickly saw the blaze double in size.
Residents in Montrose, Kilsyth and Kilsyth South — including Cameron’s family — have been advised to monitor weather conditions and warnings.
Speaking on Supercars’ Cool Down Lap podcast, Cameron explained: “My mum come and saw me after the race on Saturday and said, ‘Is there anything you need out of the house, cause there's a fire coming pretty close’.
“And at that stage I think it was about six, seven hundred metres away, and then through the night, it got within a couple hundred metres.
“My mum, sister, and a lot of other friends and family were there, trying to put out little spot fires and embers and stuff, so thanks to them. “Thankfully I've still got a house to go back to tonight.”
In scenes reminiscent of Declan Fraser's bravery from Bathurst last year, Cameron got it together and returned to race on Sunday, adding: “I've got enough going on as it is in this car, but it's just something you forget about.
“Like, we live up in the sort of bushland area, but still always think you're pretty safe and yeah, this time it's a bit of eye opening to how close it can get.”
Cameron picked up finishes of 22nd, 19th and 21st, with the driver critical of his own performance on what was a bruising weekend for BRT.
“Let's be harsh and go with like a four or a five, I wasn't very happy with a lot of it," Cameron replied when asked to rate his weekend out of 10.
“There's some parts that if you look into it all it's good and comparable to JC [James Courtney] but certainly qualifying, not getting that lap together, makes it look not great.”
