Matt Fowles’ family-owned winery gone within an hour
Updated ,first published
Matt Fowles fought desperately to save his home and vineyard on Thursday with the help of a CFA officer and a friend, but now there is little left.
The Longwood fire hit the award-winning, family-owned Fowles Wines outside Avenel in Melbourne’s north at 9.15am on Thursday. Just 45 minutes later, all that was left was a moonscape of scorched vines, razed houses and dead sheep.
Nearly 300 acres of grape vines were destroyed, hundreds of sheep were killed, and the homes of Fowles’ uncle and neighbors were destroyed.
“It continued at 9.30am and created pressure on the house, smoke, heavy smoke and then at 9.45am the whole house [property] Fowles “was on fire” Friday morning, he said.
“My whole garden was on fire and we were just able to save the house. We lost everything at another property about five kilometers down the road. We lost the house and four sheds. This was the house my uncle lived in and he chose to leave the day before, which was obviously a very good thing.”
“I’m aware of two other houses that have disappeared, and I know on my other border to the north there’s a house that has disappeared there, which just shows how amazing it is that we’ve managed to hold on to ours.”
At 10 a.m. on Thursday morning, a shocked Fowles began sweeping floors and assessing the damage, and worked until midnight to secure the remaining buildings; Until the winds increased again and left behind 300 acres of parched vines, 1500 acres of burnt pastures and hundreds of dead sheep.
“I thought, ‘God, I can be content with what’s going to happen,’ and it scared me, so I got out of there,” the winemaker said.
“This is a moonscape. There’s not a single blade of grass.”
“Yesterday was very intense and if I’m being realistic I can say I’m in shock. I’ve been quite emotional this morning and now I’m thinking about how to put everything back together.”
The relief of saving his home was short-lived. When Age When he checked in later on Friday, he said his house was now lost. This year’s crop is also completely finished.
“At this stage there is absolutely 100 percent crop loss for this vintage and all the infrastructure around it, meaning all the drippers [for watering]all the poles – all burned, destroyed.
“I received hundreds of messages [from] I contacted friends in and outside the wine industry and received a few offers saying they would send me some fruit. So the support has been absolutely amazing.”
Matt’s brother, independent MP Will Fowles, thanked the CFA, friends and neighbors for their support.
“This is an incredibly challenging time for the Avenel and Longwood communities,” he said Age. “We are incredibly grateful for the courage and generosity of CFA volunteers as well as our neighbors and friends.”
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