Around half a hectare of bushland along the Murray River was scorched. Source: DEECA

Campers are being urged to ensure their fires are properly extinguished after a blaze ripped through an Australian park on the weekend, destroying trees thought to be hundreds of years old. Pictures show once towering red gums have completely collapsed along the Murray River, due to the intensity of the blaze.

The fire burned around half a hectare at Gadsen Bend Park, on the Victoria and NSW border, but was extinguished by expert crews working within Victoria’s Department of Environment (DEECA). Red gums can live for up to 1,000 years and soar 45 metres into the air, and it’s understood two giants were saved by a team of seven firefighters.

Red gums are considered a slow-growing species of tree, and hollows that provide shelter for birds, gliders, and possums take over a hundred years to form inside them. But it’s not just on land that they play an important environmental role, as their fallen limbs provide habitat for threatened fish like Murray cod.

Firefighters were able to save two large trees. Source: DEECA

DEECA shared images of fallen trees after the blaze swept through. Source: DEECA

What was the cause of the destructive blaze?

Mystery surrounds the exact cause of the blaze and how widespread the damage was, but DEECA issued a public statement about the incident on Wednesday, warning people to “Always ensure your campfires are completely extinguished”.

DEECA said crews from its agency, Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic), were unavailable for interview with Yahoo News. In an emailed statement, FFMVic Deputy Chief Fire Officer Scott Falconer said the cause of the blaze is still under investigation.

“The fire burnt around half [a] hectare and impacted some large red gum trees. Some of the trees destroyed by the fire are estimated to have been around 400 years old,” he added.

This article originally appeared on Yahoo News Australia at https://au.news.yahoo.com/aussies-warned-over-common-camping-mistake-after-400-year-old-trees-destroyed-033041530.html