industry, the inlet estuary consisting of Top Lake and Bottom Lake, and Croajingolong National Park that surround it. Gipsy Point is located at the head of Mallacoota Inlet, and is especially known for its bird life. Sport Golfers play at the course of the Mallacoota Golf and Country Club on Nelson Drive. The Sydney Swans' 2005 premiership winning defender and former St Kilda player Sean Dempster hails from Mallacoota. Mallacoota has a soccer club called the Mallacoota Blues. The club ranging from junior age groups to senior age groups plays in the Far South Coast Football Association (FSCFA). Mallacoota is also the host to the annual Mallacoota Cup soccer tournament. Whale watchings for migrating and residential species such as the endemic, endangered Burrunan dolphins, southern right whales, and humpback whales, are available on many locations along the coasts in their migration seasons. Fishing competitions are also popular in the town of Mallacoota with many being held on weekends throughout the year. These weekends help to support individual businesses with the number of people that visit the small town. 2019-2020 bushfires Cause On the late afternoon of 28 December, a lightning strike near Wingan River started a bushfire which burned southward towards the coast, roughly 40 km away despite mild conditions and little wind. Expected wind changes and catastrophic fire conditions predicted for the days to follow highlighted the risk to the township if the fire remained uncontrolled. Warnings Evacuation warnings were given to the potential fire impact area of East Gippsland at 3:00pm on 28 December resulting in over 30,000 holidaymakers exiting the East Gippsland region in the days to follow. Mallacoota and Cann River were excluded at that time from the warnings. Three Country Fire Authority (CFA) strike teams, about 95 volunteer firefighters with 18 tankers and three command vehicles, were sent to the town immediately after the fire started on 28 December to assist the local CFA brigade and other emergency services, they arrived in the town early night the same day. Local emergency services estimated 10,000 people were in the town at the time the CFA strike teams arrived, including up to 2,000 residents. At 1:00pm on 29 December a "watch and act" notified residents it was too late to leave, stranding thousands in town after the Princes Highway to Melbourne was closed. This was despite roads to New South Wales being safe to travel. At 8:34pm