Great Ocean Road fires: Lorne back in business but be careful

LORNE is back in business but holiday-makers heading to the town are urged to exercise extreme caution and pay attention to updates.

Lorne open for business, but heed warnings

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LORNE is back in business, but holiday-makers heading to the Great Ocean Rd town are urged to exercise caution and pay attention to updates and warnings.

The bushfire threat from the Jamieson Track blaze was downgraded yesterday after thousands of families were forced to evacuate the popular summer destination on a chaotic Christmas Day.

Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley said the public could now make their way along the coast to Lorne, but the Great Ocean Rd remained closed south of the town.

Visitors could make their own decisions on safety, but it was important to stay up to date with information from the CFA and Bureau of Meteorology, he said.

“People still need to enjoy Victoria. People still need to enjoy what they’re doing. But they need to make decisions around safety, and we’ll provide that information that people can (access),” he said.

“I have not seen the forecast to say we will have … extreme fire danger ratings on New Year’s Eve.

“We’ll see a hot day, it’s not going to be windy, and I think people need to make sure they understand that wherever they are in Victoria.

“But stay attuned to information that is available and make good decisions.”

Insurance Council of Australia spokesman Campbell Fuller said if visitors’ plans were affected by the bushfire, they could be entitled to compensation.

“If they purchased domestic travel insurance they should contact their insurer and see if they can make a claim,” he said.

If visitors had not bought insurance they should contact their place of accommodation to see what they could offer, he said.

Meanwhile, the ICA yesterday declared a “catastrophe” for communities on the Great Ocean Rd affected by the bushfire.

The cost of the losses was expected to top $38 million for the more than 100 properties lost, Mr Fuller said.

ICA CEO Rob Whelan said the declaration enabled the industry to escalate its response to assist affected policy holders, whose cases would be prioritised by their insurers.

Under the catastrophe declaration, the ICA activated its disaster hotline to help policy holders with general inquiries about the claims process.

It also established a taskforce to identify and address any issues and sent staff to the area to work directly with affected policy holders.

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