A fire at Anakie near the Geelong-Ballan Road which had been extinguished the previous day flared up again and moved quickly towards Lara where it destroyed a 90 year old gothic church and 40 houses.

The worst death toll occurred when a fast-moving grass fire approached the four-lane Melbourne-Geelong Expressway at Lara. Seventeen people died when they left their cars and, in the dense smoke, tried to outrun the fire. Six people who sheltered in their cars survived.

The event was a catalyst in changing guidelines recommending people are safer staying in a car when the fire is upon them. The fire burnt to the edge of suburban Melbourne affecting Altona, Diamond Valley and Kangaroo Ground. In total 23 people died, 100 were injured, and 230 homes and 21 buildings were destroyed