Buchan residents return to rubble of their homes
Residents finally allowed to return to the town of Buchan, where a man was killed and 24 homes lost in raging bushfires, have been met with ashen heaps of twisted metal and burnt earth.
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Buchan residents were on Friday finally allowed back into the town where 24 homes were destroyed and one man was killed.
Vast plains and cattle yards were invisible underneath the cloak of thick smoke which had hung in the air for five days.
A rooster could be heard crowing somewhere among the rubble, but all else remained quiet among the overwhelming devastation.
On the outskirts of town, ashen heaps of twisted metal and burnt earth were all that was left of family homes.
Great-grandfather Mick Roberts lost his life while trying to defend the Buchan property he had called home for the past two decades.
An eerie calm hung over the town’s main street which had been left almost untouched by flames thanks to the efforts of fire strike teams.
The local pub, the Buchan Caves Hotel which was burnt to the ground five years ago, remained standing as did the church and general store.
Barely a soul remained in town on Friday, with many heeding warnings to pack up their belongings and leave ahead of dangerous conditions today.
Police had earlier lead a convoy of residents through the deserted town to collect essentials before leaving again.
Meanwhile, a Wairewa brigade captain has been lauded a hero after helping his tight-knit community flee a deadly inferno that wiped out half the homes in the East Gippsland town.
As flames lapped at the edges of the small hamlet, near Nowa Nowa, CFA captain Julian Davies knew many of his neighbours had chosen to remain behind.
Mr Davies sprang to action, unlocking the town hall and parking a fire truck outside it before knocking on every front door, pleading with those inside to get to safety.
“Whoever stayed in the community … we said we want you out, we want you to go,” Mr Davies said.
About 20 people, including a family with five children, sheltered in the makeshift refuge as the ferocious fire ripped through the town just over an hour later.
In total, 11 houses were razed during Monday’s firestorm — almost half of the homes in township. Mr Davies’ home was one of the lucky ones after he stayed behind to defend it with his own truck.
“I felt guilty that I’d saved my own house,” he said.
“As brigade captain you feel like you have to do everything to save everyone else’s house.”
Mr Davies, a new captain, said the sound of the fire was something he’d never forget.
“I could hear the roar coming out of the forest and I knew it was coming,” he said.
Mr Davies leadership was on Friday commended as CFA Chief Officer Steve Warrington visited the community.
“Everybody in this community lived and survived the day and a fair bit of that is attributed to you (Julian),” Mr Warrington said.
“Your leadership here saved lives, bloody top effort.”
EVACUATE NOW - BUSHFIRE
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) January 3, 2020
Incident Location: Buchan Valley
More details at https://t.co/dZkXc6c1mC pic.twitter.com/LdhHh6KgFN
“When you go into these communities and you see one house and you realise the impact every one (bushfire) has,” he said.
“There is life lost here, there are houses destroyed.
“We saw today people who have lost their homes who are still trying to work to save others in their community. Let’s do them a favour, and get out.
“The reality is — we do not have a truck for every home. It is just impossible to do. What will you do if the fire truck doesn’t come up the road.”
Mr Warrington said among Monday’s devastation there was positivity.
“Among all this devastation and tears were hugs,” he said.
It sounds quite corny but the reality was, there was love.
“There is a real sense of camaraderie that is a silver lining.”
Mr Warrington said the bushfires were “not over”.
“Our whole endeavour now, asking people not to be in these fire zones, is to make sure we don’t lose any more lives,” he said.
The fire chief said he was putting trucks into townships they believed would be impacted.
Deputy fire chief Beth Roberts said 3 per cent of Victoria was on fire and that some fire-affected regions may not be out of the woods yet.
“Some communities that have already been impacted by fire can be impacted once again,” she said.
“Not all the fuels have been burnt. There are areas of unburnt fuels in some of those townships.”
THURSDAY’S COVERAGE: TOWN WITHOUT POWER
On Thursday, Buchan, which was ravaged by bushfires on New Year’s Eve, remained isolated and without power.
Mike Cooper was one of the few residents who had access to a working mobile phone in Buchan.
The town has been without power or phone reception since Monday.
“Everyone from Buchan is stranded at the moment,” he said.
“It is mayhem. Buchan is obliterated.”
Mr Cooper said “people are running out of supplies” in the town but there were incredible acts of kindness between the locals.
“The pub owner and his Mrs are feeding everyone even though they lost their own home,” he said.
“They will still soldiering on, managing to feed everyone.”
Emergency supplies were being packed at the Lucknow community centre for Buchan and Mallacoota.
Councillor Joe Rettino said there were 40 pallets of water ready to go.
“There are care packs made up of toiletries, towels and underwear,” he said.
“These are things you take for granted when they are in the store but these supplies are running out.”
Mr Rettino said a lack of phone reception was not ideal in fire affected regions.
“The back up for those mobile towers, which are critical communication points, will need to be looked at,” he said.
“It is life or death, it’s a must have for communication.
“Out of this, there will be a fair bit of work at looking at these critical bits of infrastructure.”
A Facebook page for locals to communicate information out to friends and family has been set up.
For some, it is the only way of telling their loved ones they are alive.
Mr Cooper said the towers need to be up and running so people could communicate.
“I don’t know what Telstra is doing, they need a kick in the ass.
“People can’t communicate with each other and it is creating more panic.
Mr Cooper said the town was isolated due to the risk of falling trees on the only road in and out of the small township.
He said he was sleeping the side door of his truck at the footy oval.
“People are around, we are all banding together to help each other out.
“It is not good but everyone is in pretty good spirits, what can you do?
“When it was all on fire, it was pretty hectic.
“When you live in the bush, it is just what happens.”
Mr Rettino said local volunteers deserved a “shout-out” for their generosity.
“They have just done a sensational amount of work,” he said.
“The good that comes out of these events, the community spirit and good will.”
Beloved great-grandfather Mick Roberts was found dead in his fire-ravagedome in Buchan on Wednesday morning.
His body was discovered by his nephew, Jason, who delivered the sad news to the family.
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Mr Roberts’ niece, Leah Parsons, told the Herald Sun her uncle had been painting his home with two mates before the bushfire hit.
“They ran into the river on the property but they couldn’t get him to go,” she said.
“He said he needed to go into the shed for a minute and they never saw him again.”
Mr Roberts was a cattleman who loved his family and farm, located on 450 acres of land on Sunny Point Rd.