Supply drops hit 18 isolated towns before conditions turn dangerous
Eighteen Victorian towns still remain isolated and without power amid the bushfire crisis, and authorities are working tirelessly to deliver much-need food and water supplies before conditions turn dangerous once again.
VIC News
Don't miss out on the headlines from VIC News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
About 18 communities remain isolated from the rest of Victoria as authorities work to get vital supplies to people before fire conditions turn dangerous again.
Convoys of supplies are flowing into Corryong and other Upper Murray communities left stranded by fires.
However, residents are still settling into the reality they may be forced to rely on emergency provisions for weeks and even months.
Donations of everything from hay and dog food to clothes, water and baking goods were trucked from Tallangatta to Corryong in two CFA-guarded convoys Monday morning and afternoon.
The town of Genoa, near the NSW border, on Monday received their first drop of much needed food and water supplies after being cut-off for almost a week.
Colonel Sharon Coates said the supplies delivered by the air force should last for five days.
“It’s the first time we’ve been able to get helicopters in there,
“We’re really pleased that we’ve been able to assist that community … (with) the bare essentials to get by for the next few days,” Colonel Coates said.
Incident controller Brett Mitchell said the main focus for authorities was gaining access to isolated communities with many still without power.
“We’re still trying to get access to some of these areas,” he said.
“It’s unsafe for even our crews (to get in),” Mr Mitchell said.
And while the fire activity in the area has substantially subsided and the region pelted with rain over the past two days, Mr Mitchell said the risk still remains.
He warned the bushfires raging across the state could continue to burn into March and warned holiday makers it was too soon to return to popular destinations such as Lakes Entrance.
“It’s probably still not safe for visitors to enter East Gippsland just yet,” Mr Mitchell said.
All people missing in Victoria’s deadly bushfires have been found safe, but at least 200 homes have been destroyed.
And a dedicated agency will oversee the rebuilding effort from the bushfire crisis, with at least 200 homes destroyed.
The $50 million government agency Bushfire Recovery Victoria is permanent and will oversee how money is spent on the wake of dangerous fire seasons.
Premier Daniel Andrews said BRV would be led by former police commissioner Ken Lay.
“It will coordinate all government effort,” he said.
“Unlike the authority that was established in the wake of the February 2009 fires, this is not a time-limited or an authority that’s about clean-up and recovery just for these bushfires.
“Because we’re going to see longer fire seasons and we are going to see — we should just be honest about the fact — we’re going to see more and more fires, more and more damage as each fire season comes.”
More than 1,200,000ha of land has been burnt across Victoria, with 27 fires still going.
Emergency Management Victoria Commissioner Andrew Crisp said some rain has fallen in parts of the state but it was not having a major impact on fires.
The communities of Bendoc and Bonang, near the NSW border, are the only two isolated communities that have not yet been contacted.
An evacuation order has been revoked to allow people to return to their homes — but the order may be reissued as temperatures rise again later this week.
Mr Andrews said Victorians could face more danger by Thursday.
“We have got big fire danger coming this way,” he said. “No one can be complacent.”
The cooler weather has allowed military helicopters to deliver supplies to isolated communities and help with evacuations, reaching 13 communities on Sunday.
They also rescued 406 people from Mallacoota but attempts to fly out another 300 on Monday were stalled because of the smoke. Navy ships brought out more than 1100 people on Saturday.
The deadly fires have killed Buchan man Mick Roberts and Maramingo Creek man Fred Becker.
More than 3500 properties remain without power, with AusNet bringing in generators when possible and restoring the network when it is safe to do so.
All warnings now sit at a watch and act level.
HAZE TO LINGER FOR DAYS
A thick smoky haze has blanketed Melbourne, and is expected to remain until at least Wednesday.
The Environment Protection Authority has recorded “very poor” air quality in the city and surrounds, with the haze a combination of fires in Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania.
Very poor air quality could see symptoms like coughing or shortness of breath.
Those with pre-existing heart or lung conditions or asthma and those aged under 14, over 60 or pregnant women are most at risk by the smoke.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE SMOKE HAZE
Victoria’s chief health officer Dr Brett Sutton said these conditions can be life-threatening to vulnerable groups.
Chief scientist Dr Andrea Hinwood said Victorians needed to brace for difficult conditions going forward.
“I don’t think we have ever seen anything like this before,” she said.
“We need to be aware these fires are going to go on, as the commission has been saying, for two months, so we need to plan appropriately as a community.”
RAIN WILL HINDER EFFORTS
Rain will fall over East Gippsland today, but it will hinder, not help the fire fight.
Less than 10mm of rain is expected in the fire-ravaged region today.
A state control spokesperson said scattered showers can create hazardous conditions for firefighters.
“The rain won’t make an impact on the fire itself. It will hinder firefighting in some areas … sometimes it can impact back-burns to get rid of fuel ahead of fire,” the spokesperson said.
In one bushfire zone, a truck was tipped over in the challenging conditions caused by rain.
“It does in fact create some other challenges in a strange way, we had a Forest Fire Management vehicle tip over yesterday, thankfully no one was seriously injured,” Premier Daniel Andrews said.
The track the vehicle was travelling had been greasy because rain had not fallen there in such a long time.
“So it’s better than it not raining, but it’s nowhere near enough for us to think this far event’s over,” he said.
Firefighters are bracing for hot, dry north-westerly winds on Friday, where temperatures are forecast to climb above 40C in the East Gippsland region.
A south-westerly wind change is predicted to hit late Friday, potentially spelling more trouble for the area.
“The wind change is what we are worried about,” a state control spokesperson said.
Another 70 firefighters from the US and Canada will join the fire fight on Wednesday.
More than 1000 firefighters are currently working around the clock across the state.
Mr Andrews has stressed that despite rain soaking Victoria, dozens of fires continue to burn in the East Gippsland region and in the northeast of the state.
“Not all the rain is falling where it needs to, you’d need 100, 150, 200mm of rain to put these fires out and we’re just not going to get that. ” Mr Andrews told 3AW.
He said that Victoria was only at the beginning of its fire season which is what makes the current bushfire situation so “unique”.
On the issue of controlled burning, Mr Andrews said “you can only put fire into a landscape when it’s safe to do so … you’ve got to do the hectares the climate allows you to do.
“We are getting less and less days where it’s safe to do so.”
CORRYONG FIRE’S GROWTH SLOWS
Last night, only a river separated Victoria’s Corryong fire from two NSW fires.
But the blaze, which authorities earlier feared would merge to form a mega-fire, has slowed in its growth after this week’s milder conditions and rainfall.
It comes as Victoria’s fires were downgraded, meaning no emergency warnings were in place around 10.30am this morning — but dozens of watch and acts remain.
Emergency services said more than half the residents in the likely junction zone were refusing to leave their alpine homes.
Two blazes burning on Sunday across the border in NSW’s Kosciuszko National Park were split only by a single ridge, meaning less than 10km stood between them at the narrowest point.
There are still about 20 isolated communities across Victoria. Premier Daniel Andrews said that could mean various issues like some areas having no power or phone coverage, but teams were working “hour by hour” to get access and provide support.
NEW BUSHFIRE APPEAL FUND SET UP
Victorians are being urged to dig deep to help those who have lost everything in the bushfire crisis, as leaders vowed to work together to rebuild communities.
Australia’s defence force and emergency services will fly hundreds more victims in the northeast of the state to safety today.
Amid pleas for help from victims, Premier Daniel Andrews revealed a new Bushfire Appeal Fund would be set up, kickstarted with $2 million in state money.
Mr Andrews also thanked Victorians for their donations of clothes and food, but stressed that the most helpful thing people could do to support those impacted by the fires is donate cash to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal.
The Premier said that at these worst of times, people showed the best of the Aussie spirit.
“I’m very proud to think that so many Victorians have been reaching out to support complete strangers.
“Even people who have lost everything, their only concern is for the welfare of others, it’s quite a remarkable thing. We’ve got a long way to go though and if people can contribute even a small amount of money, that’s the best thing to do.”
An unprecedented state of disaster remains in place as:
• Two people are confirmed dead;
• 1,000,000ha of land has been burnt;
• 110 properties and 220 outbuildings razed; and
• 31 fires currently burning.
MORE BUSHFIRE NEWS