Fire ban remains as residents confront carnage
Residents have faced the devastation brought by devastating bushfires in Victoria but danger remains after another statewide ban was announced.
Firefighters battled on multiple fronts on Saturday, destroying at least 115 structures and more than 300,000 hectares of bush and farmland so far.
A state of emergency was declared in 20 local government areas.
There have been several emergency-level fires across the state, but firefighting efforts have focused on a large blaze in central Victoria and another in the northeast, near the NSW border.
The fire that ripped through Harcourt, north-east of Castlemaine in the Central Highlands, damaged at least 50 structures, including homes and businesses.
Bonnie and Remy Sowman were speechless as they looked at the blackened ruins of their cafe, which held a special place in the Harcourt community.
The couple decided to pack their bags and leave both their homes and workplaces on Friday, when conditions began to change.
He described the day as a blur.
“We had a friend who posted some footage and it was bad where we lived. We thought our house was gone for most of the night,” he told AAP.
On Friday night, they received news that their home was safe, but the situation was very different for their business.
“We are grateful to be out, everyone is safe,” he said.
“We live in a beautiful community where everyone will contribute and help, and we are completely inundated with beautiful offers from people.”
Although the Bureau of Meteorology has predicted that the weather will be milder on Sunday and the winds will ease but change direction, the danger is not over yet.
“This means that people on the northern side of these fire zones could be at risk tomorrow,” Dean Narramore, senior meteorologist at the bureau, told ABC TV.
“And unfortunately it won’t really rain for at least the next five to seven days.”
CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said conditions had eased but there was a long way to go before the fires were brought under control.
“Understand how increased fire risk will affect you and make sure your fire plan covers all possible contingencies,” he said.
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