David Moresi is Victoria’s fifth bushfire victim after vehicle rollover
Victoria’s bushfire death toll has increased again after a Forest Fire Management supervisor died in a car rollover near the Snowy River. It comes as firefighters continue to battle 17 out-of-control bushfires.
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A fifth person has been added to the death toll from Victoria’s bushfires.
David Moresi, a Forest Fire Management employee, died on November 30 in a vehicle rollover while building fire breaks at W Tree, near the Snowy River in East Gippsland.
Mr Moresi, from Johnsonville, was supervising work while bulldozers dug fire breaks in the region.
At the end of his shift, his car rolled over while making his way back through the fireground.
He was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.
Daughter Kelly Douglass told the Herald Sun that her father “would get in to help anyone who needed it”.
“He was a really good and caring dad, he loved his grandkids and would do anything for them,” she said.
“He always watched them play footy and all of their sports. He would take them camping, motorbike riding and fishing — all the outdoor stuff.
“He would do anything for his family.”
The 69-year-old and his wife Judi had been together since they were 15, and Ms Douglass said the devastated family was “struggling” in the wake of his death.
The former schoolteacher, from Johnsonville, had been due to fly to the Philippines on Boxing Day to help build a school, with an annual scholarship for local schoolchildren now named in his honour.
Forest Fire Management Victoria chief Chris Hardman said Mr Moresi’s death had been a tragic blow.
“David is a pillar of the community, a dedicated educator,” he said.
“He loved the bush. He inspired so many people to be in the great outdoors.
“We do have a debt that the community can never repay.”
BOOST TO FIRE RELIEF PAYMENTS
Hundreds of Victorian families caught up in the ongoing bushfire disaster will receive a further $400 per child as part of the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment.
The money will go to all families who received the initial payment of $400 and they need not apply a second time.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the boost would help ease the pressure of the initial 331 families in bushfire affected communities as children prepare to head back to school in a few weeks.
“For many people right now it’s the basics that count,” Mr Morrison said.
“We need to make sure everyone has food on the table and clothes on their backs.”
The number of families receiving this support in Victoria is expected to jump in the coming days and will not be capped.
The Prime Minister also announced a dozen fire-ravaged regions across Victoria have been granted extra help by the state and national government as part of the ongoing bushfire relief effort.
Category C and Category D assistance would be made available to Ararat, Alpine, Ballarat, East Gippsland, Glenelg, Golden Plains, Indigo, Mansfield, Northern Grampians, Pyrenees, Southern Grampians, Towong, Wangaratta, Wellington and Wodonga local council areas.
Mr Morrison said there were 6000 Defence personnel working around the country today and they were working alongside emergency services while conditions were milder to do as much as possible before more high fire danger days.
“There are still fires affecting many communities around the country and I want to thank again all of those who are out there, whether they are proving containment lines or out there directly dealing with smouldering parts of the country or indeed fires themselves at a more active level,” he said.
“We know there is hazardous air quality across much of south-eastern Australia for today, and that is obviously raising I think awareness as well as anxiety in some parts of the community.
FIRE RAGES AT TAMBOON
It comes as more than 700 firefighters battle an out-of-control bushfire at Tamboon, with residents told to flee while they can.
An emergency warning was issued for Tamboon and Tamboon South overnight in East Gippsland as a bushfire burning for days flared up.
But it has since been downgraded to a watch and act, and authorities are urging people to leave before conditions worsen again.
The fire is not yet under control, with bushfire activity around Bemm River, Furnell, Tonghi Creek and Wingan River.
A CFA spokesperson last night said 709 personnel were currently fighting the flames.
The blaze, near the Bemm River area, is one of many fires still burning across the state.
It comes as about 1500 personnel are strengthening containment lines while weather conditions provide a much-needed reprieve from extreme fire danger.
But Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville said the 17 fires still burning could “take a run” and “impact communities, life and property”.
“We currently have 1500 firefighters who are out on the ground now who are working to do what they can to put in place measures to minimise the next impact of the fires,” Ms Neville said.
“Unless we have substantial rain there will be further impact from these fires in East Gippsland and also in the northeast.
“The work that is being done this week, while we can, will play a really big role in trying to minimise the impact on communities, life and property going forward.”
Ms Neville added: “I wish I could say this was over but we still have a long way to go.”
The state government yesterday confirmed that 1.4 million hectares had been burnt, with 353 homes destroyed or damaged and more than 500 outbuildings also hit.
A string of road blocks also remained in place, with the Princes Hwy closed east of Orbost and the Monaro Hwy closed from Cann River to the NSW border.
But Ms Neville said clearing the Princes Hwy, the key route in and out of isolated holiday town Mallacoota, was a “No.1 priority”.
“It is a critical part of the work being done by the ADF and Forest Fire Management and some of our Vic Forest contractors as well,” Ms Neville said.
Defence personnel have been assisting fire-affected areas like Orbost with tree felling.
Major General Jake Ellwood said local services in the East Gippsland area were becoming exhausted and defence personnel were there to help however they could.
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“We have a situation where under normal circumstances, of which this is not, if there was a fire front other firefighters from other areas would come in and support,” Major General Ellwood said.
“But of course, with the scale of the fires and the scale of the effort required they are not getting the same reinforcement.”
A total of 5600 Defence personnel including 2800 reservists were on the ground across the country.