Victorian bushfires: Clean-up complete as drone footage shows amazing transformation
Drone footage has revealed an amazing transformation across Victoria’s bushfire-ravaged regions, with the clean-up of more than 700 properties razed this summer now complete. Watch the video.
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The massive clean-up from Victoria’s summer bushfires is complete with more than 700 properties cleared.
A whopping 75,000 tonnes of waste was removed from properties as part of the effort, a joint operation between the State Government and Commonwealth.
It was completed on time and at no cost to property owners.
Emergency Services Lisa Neville said the milestone was significant.
“This was a complex job spread over more than 700 individual sites,’’ she said.
“We said we’d finish up by the end of August and the crews of hardworking locals and experts did such a great job to get us there.”
Federal Emergency Management David Littleproud said: “Clean-up is one of the most challenging aspects of bushfire recovery, with all the hazards associated with asbestos and demolition work and all the trauma that comes with revisiting burnt-out properties.”
Construction giant Grocon and subcontractor crews cleared up to 60 properties a week at the height of the clean-up.
Properties in East Gippsland alone produced an average of almost nine truckloads of asbestos-contaminated bushfire waste, with trucks cumulatively travelling more than 1.2 million kilometres to and from waste facilities.
Sarsfield resident Kevin Perry was literally left with the clothes on his back when his house of more than 40 years burned down on New Year’s Eve.
But clean-up crews raised Mr Perry’s spirits when they found a treasured Emergency Services Medal he received in the 2006 Australia Day Honours in recognition of decades of service with the State Emergency Service.
Two workers, nicknamed Wombat and Stretch, found the medal.
“They had the compassion to get stuck in there and find what was meaningful,’’ Mr Perry said.
“I’d drawn them a map of the house and where they would find it all.
“They said the floor plan was pretty accurate – I should hope so, because I designed the place myself 44 years ago.”
The state and Commonwealth have provided more than $25 million in grants for fire-affected primary producers which give up to $75,000 to help them rebuild and re-establish farms.
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