More than 500 structures destroyed in Victoria’s bushfires as 12 major blazes continue to burn | Victoria
The bushfire threat in Victoria has eased with no emergency warnings issued for the first time in almost a week; The state and federal governments have pledged an initial $10 million to help clean up more than 500 structures destroyed by the fires.
On Tuesday morning the State Control Center (SCC) confirmed there were no emergency warnings issued for the first time since Thursday, despite there being 12 major bushfires active across Victoria, with many expected to burn for days or weeks.
Prime Minister Jacinta Allan said the wake-up call was welcome news and cited the “huge work done by emergency services since the fires started late last week”.
Victoria’s emergency management commissioner Tim Wiebusch said there were 20 watch and act alerts and 20 advisory alerts as of 11am on Tuesday.
“Conditions have eased for today and perhaps the next few days, but we will likely see these conditions change as we move into next week,” he said, urging communities to remain vigilant.
Authorities expect conditions to become “more severe” on Jan. 23 or 24, Wiebusch said.
“But this is being assessed on a daily basis with the Bureau of Meteorology and obviously it will come back to the community when we know when the risk is going to increase again,” he said.
The SCC estimates that 404,00 hectares have been burned in the devastating fires, while Wiebusch confirmed that more than 500 structures have been damaged or destroyed, up from 350 on Monday.
This includes at least 90 homes and 243 outbuildings destroyed or demolished in the Longwood fire, which devastated parts of central Victoria, including Euroa, Yarck and surrounding areas, and also destroyed power pylons, infrastructure, livestock, plantations and vineyards.
The Longwood fire destroyed more than 144,000 hectares within a perimeter of about 400 km, Wiebusch said.
Also dead along with his wife Julie was cattle farmer Maxwell Hobson, who ran Aintree Farm Herefords at Terip Terip, near Euroa.
In a 2024 interview, Hobson said he worked as a mechanical engineer and project manager for 50 years, spent time in South America and Australia, and found cattle farming at the age of 68.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his thoughts were with Hobson’s family and friends. “This community will mourn today,” he told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday.
“I say to people in Victoria, but also to people in flood-affected areas in northern Queensland: This is not over yet. Please stay safe, listen to the authorities.”
51 homes and three businesses were lost in Ravenswood and Harcourt and critical infrastructure including the Bendigo rail line was damaged. Streatham toll updated to 15 houses and 39 outbuildings.
In some “good news,” Wiebusch said the number of homes destroyed by the Grass Flat fire in Natimuk dropped from 30 to 17. He said 18 outbuildings and 40 lampposts were also affected in the township, which is about 25km west of the regional city of Horsham.
He said Yarroweyah, on the New South Wales border, lost 12 structures, while Mount Mercer, Wonnangatta and Kennedys Creek in the Otways lost one structure each.
The Walwa fire, also on the border, destroyed four structures, 28 kilometers of fencing, 584 hectares of agricultural land and a pine plantation of approximately 10,000 hectares.
Wiebusch said those numbers will continue to increase as assessors have access to more areas.
More than 70 aircraft were on hand Tuesday to fight the fires from above, including the national large air tanker, Black Hawk helicopters and two aerial cranes.
Officials also turned their focus to cleaning up, reopening roads and preparing for the remainder of the fire season.
Allan announced the federal and state governments had committed $10 million to the bushfire cleanup programme, but stressed this was the “initial allocation” of funds.
“Consistent with previous wildfire experience,” he said, a statewide contractor would be brought in for the cleanup effort and would focus on assisting uninsured households who had lost their primary place of residence.
The Victorian government will also allocate $5 million to waive fees at local landfills and set up an emergency rescue line: 1800 560 760.
The Prime Minister said he understood that reopening roads was a priority for farmers trying to save their animals.
The Victorian Farmers’ Federation told the ABC on Monday more than 15,000 livestock had died and that number was expected to rise. Some surviving animals were so severely injured that they had to be euthanized. Others starve to death because their food supplies have burned.
Wiebusch said significant work was being done to open more than 100 roads totaling 155 kilometers that remained closed Tuesday morning, and many were still “unsafe to travel.”
Allan said only locals should travel to fire-affected communities.
“There is still a lot of work to be done to continue the safe reopening of roads and you will be notified when it is safe to return to these areas,” he said.
