By Justin McManus and Broede Carmody
As Damon Henricksen returns to his family property, a gust of wind stirs the ashen ground. There is an acrid tinge to the air.
The home that housed his parents and extended family members is a burnt-out wreck. While the small business owner moved out two years ago, many of his belongings were at the property when a fire tore through the tiny western Victorian town of Pomonal on Tuesday afternoon.
All that remained on Friday was an undamaged motorbike, standing upright in the driveway, exactly where it was parked before the flames rolled in.
“It’s pretty devastating,” Henricksen said. “A lot of memories and a lot of stuff that’s gone that you’ll never replace. But everyone got out safe. That’s the most important thing.”
As Henricksen is giving The Age a tour of the burnt-out property, Pomonal local Marc Sleeman arrives for a welfare check.
The boss of the Grampians Regional Tourism Board has just come from the Pomonal general store, which is serving as a community meeting place. People are in a bad way, he says. There are a lot of tears.
Damon Henricksen visiting the family home of his parents and extended family that was destroyed in the fire. Damon and his immediate family moved out two years ago but many of his possessions were still there.Credit: Justin McManus
“There’s still disbelief,” Sleeman said. “People are really not coming to terms with the fact that more than 50 per cent of our community have lost their homes over the last two days.”
Just up the road, Bela Pechnig and Georgia Matthey – the owners of Pomonal Cottages – have turned up to inspect their business with their two young children. They’ve owned and operated the cottages for just five-and-a-half months.
Their son, Rhaya, is holding a bright blue and white rabbit. The soft toy is in stark contrast to the surrounding destruction.
Pechnig believes at least 80 per cent of the property, which includes the family home, has been destroyed.
Bela Pechnig and Rhaya. They lost their family home and livelihood when fire ripped through Pomonal.Credit: Justin McManus
“I lost all my income, our income,” he told The Age. “We will build it up again. Make it nicer.”
Tuesday’s extreme weather conditions brought fires to the Grampians National Park. That same afternoon, wind gusts of up to 150km/h smashed trees and brought down power poles across large parts of the state. Sustained power outages led to the widespread loss of internet, landline and mobile phone coverage.
As of Friday, about 30,000 Victorian homes were still without power. About 3000 are not expected to have their lights back on until early next week.
The fire that swept through tiny Pomonal, a 12-minute drive southwest of Halls Gap, has destroyed at least 44 homes and a granny flat. The town has a population of about 350 people and locals have been warned not to drink the tap water.
Premier Jacinta Allan, who visited fire-ravaged parts of western Victoria on Wednesday and Thursday, said her visit to Pomonal was incredibly sad.
“The fire … has wreaked terrible damage through the town,” Allan told ABC radio on Friday. “As much as half of that town has experienced loss. There is going to be a lot of rebuilding there.”
The premier said numerous locals raised with her issues of phone connectivity during a natural disaster, and conceded that more could be done to improve Victoria’s telecommunications.
“I do think that this needs to be an issue that is addressed not just by us. We do need to take this to a broader level. We saw the same thing coming out of Queensland with the cyclone events before Christmas.”
Damon Henricksen’s family home was destroyed.Credit: Justin McManus
The fires at Pomonal and Dadswells Bridge, at the northern tip of the Grampians, were still not under control as of Friday afternoon. But they remained at a reduced community threat level compared to earlier in the week.
Authorities expect the fires to continue burning for some time. The national park is closed to visitors.
For Henricksen and other locals, it’s now a waiting game. “[We need] the insurance companies to do their thing and find out where people are going to live,” he said.
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