Motorists were fortunate to escape catastrophe yesterday afternoon when a large tree fell across the Murray Valley Highway at the top of Derbyshire Hill. The incident occurred at around 12.30pm and closed the road to traffic in both directions, backing up more than 30 vehicles. 

Shortly afterwards two Good Samaritans took to the blockage with chainsaws and a troop of people helped clear the debris from the roadway and half an hour later traffic was on its way.

The fall occurred in fine weather and was probably caused by the saturated ground conditions after persistent rain over the past few months. There was also evidence of another tree having fallen beside the highway and cleared closer to Wodonga.