Easter Saturday was meant to be a day of relaxation.
Yet, for John Hall, tranquillity was a far cry from the reality of how the day unfolded.
Mr Hall owns The Paddock at Ulupna Island campground and was alerted to a fire by a camper staying on the Murray around lunchtime.
“No-one from The Paddock had actually noticed the fires before he came over,” Mr Hall said.
“So we called the fire brigade immediately.”
Unwilling to just stand by and wait, Mr Hall grabbed some equipment and prepared to head out to try to extinguish the fire; however, luckily, CFA brigades were on the scene within 10 minutes of the alert.
“Initially, they thought they might only need a few trucks to put it out,” Mr Hall said.
“But I think the further they got into the forest, the more fires they saw with it."
Eventually, 30 CFA trucks and 17 Forest Fire Management Victoria units, including two water bombing aircraft, were called in to tackle more than 30 separate fires in the area.
Understandably, this level of response would unsettle anyone, but Mr Hall said the firefighters kept reassuring him that everything was under control and there was no need to evacuate.
Though Mr Hall was spared fighting the fire himself, he nonetheless assisted the firefighters by riding his buggy to find a water source from which the firefighters could pump water.
“Because the water was so low in the Murray and the bank is so steep on Ulupna Creek, it was very hard for them to get water," he said.
“We did eventually find a site where they could pump water up into a fire truck, and then the other trucks could get filled from that fire truck. So that reduced the time the trucks took to refill and get back to fighting the fire.”
Mr Hall said he had dealt with stressful situations before and wasn't overly concerned by this one.
CFA investigators said there were 33 ignition points for fires in the area, with police investigating the incident.
A man from the Bendigo suburb of Golden Square has been charged with reckless conduct endangering serious injury, intentionally causing a fire, recklessly causing a fire, and possessing methamphetamines.
While some might label The Paddock at Ulupna Island's owner a hero, Mr Hall begs to differ, describing himself as a everyday citizen who just helps out when he is needed.