Christmas crisis: bushfire strikes Victorian tourist towns
Holiday towns along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road devastated by bushfires now face losing a third of income.
UPDATE: Holiday towns along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road devastated by bushfires face losing a third of their annual income.
Wye River lost 98 homes on Christmas Day, with Separation Creek losing 18.
Most of the 334 houses in the area are holiday homes, with the local population increasing 10-fold over summer.
Nearby Apollo Bay hasn’t been touched by the fires but is already seeing a drop in the usual crowd.
“People are delaying their arrival, there’s a lot of confusion, people want to be safe,” Apollo Bay Chamber of Commerce and Tourism’s Jo Birley told AAP.
“There’s also a lot of people demanding refunds and things like that.” Ms Birley said Apollo Bay’s population swells from 1200 to more than 10,000 over the holidays.
“The average business would take probably up to a third of their annual income in this month,” she said.
While stressing the importance of being safe, Ms Birley urged holiday-makers to keep their plans and take a different route for their getaways.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews asked tourists to continue enjoying their holidays in the area, but to stay aware of conditions at all times.
“The message to tourists, to visitors, is this is a beautiful part of our state. This is pristine coastline,” he told Network Seven.
“If you are aware of your circumstances … then you can still visit those areas that are open.”
Emergency management commissioner Craig Lapsley said firefighters were working to reopen Wye River, Separation Creek and the Great Ocean Road as soon as possible.
He said a priority for them was getting the towns going economically again.
Devastated residents had shown courage in the face of the traumatic bushfires, Mr Andrews said.
“People were looking out for each other and there was a sense of love and care and compassion,” he said.
The reality of the devastation will hit hard, says Colac Otway Shire Council mayor Frank Buchanan.
A 2200-hectare Jamieson Track fire was triggered by a lightning strike on December 19.
“It was a traumatic time. Now reality is settling in,” Mr Buchanan told ABC News.
“We had a quick look last night with a few people who lost their homes.” Those affected by the brutal Christmas Day bushfires will be able to soon access up to $1300 in emergency relief under a joint state and federal government scheme.
The town’s tourism industry has also taken a hit as roads to the area remain closed and accommodation cancellations pile up.
The premier has urged tourists to continue enjoying their holidays in the area, but to stay aware of conditions at all times. “The message to tourists, to visitors, is this is a beautiful part of our state. This is pristine coastline,” he said.
“If you are aware of your circumstances ... then you can still visit those areas that are open.” Meanwhile, Firefighters will begin the arduous task of cleaning up the damaged areas, which includes removing hazardous trees and reinstating power and phones.
The fire could continue burning until January or February, with the dousing of rain on Saturday unlikely to do much in the long term once the state begins to dry out.
CFA deputy incident controller Mark Gunning says that despite a downgraded warning to a watch and act, people must remain vigilant.
Bushfire claims 116 homes
More than a hundred homes have been lost in an out-of-control blaze that is predicted to burn along Victoria’s surf coast for weeks.
Despite the efforts of 500 firefighters, 29 trucks and 13 aircraft on Saturday, a total of 116 homes had been destroyed.
Tourist town Wye River lost 98 homes, and 18 more houses were razed by the fire in nearby Separation Creek as it swept through bushland and began to advance towards the town of Lorne, amid peak tourist season.
Residents and holidaymakers started to evacuate Lorne on Friday evening, but were told they could go back shortly after 9am on Saturday when the fire began to ease.
Although the CFA has downgraded the fire warning to a watch and act in Lorne, deputy incident controller Mark Gunning said the fire was still out-of-control and people needed to remain vigilant.
He said the CFA would now begin the arduous task of clearing the damaged areas, opening roads, removing hazardous trees and reinstating power and phones to Wye River.
“Our strategy is also to continue to establish and consolidate control lines around the fire,” he told AAP.
“It’s been an exceptionally dry year with the El Nino event, and the worst fire conditions will probably be seen in January and February, and that’s why we’re working really hard to consolidate this fire now.”
Firefighters will get some relief in the next few days as temperatures are set to remain in the low 20s and isolated showers are predicted to fall over the Otway coast and ranges.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s forecaster Peter Newham says skies will be clear until Thursday, with the chance of a shower occurring late on New Year’s Eve.
“We’re looking at a dry week, with a cooler start which warms up to NYE,” he said.
Victoria’s fire commissioner Craig Lapsley said that despite cooler conditions on Saturday, many hotspots in the fire ground were still a threat.
“While the cooler weather has provided some temporary advantages, there are still many hotspots within the fire area, so the change in conditions and the rain that fell this morning does not mean the threat posed by this fire is over,” he said.
The fire could continue burning until January or February, with the dousing of rain on Saturday unlikely to do much in the long term once the state began to dry out, Mr Lapsley said.
“This fire doesn’t go away,” he said.
Local community meetings were held at relief centres in Apollo Bay and Torquay, where affected residents have been offered government grants.
Bushfires declared a catastrophe
The Great Ocean Road bushfires, in which at least 116 homes have been lost, have been declared a catastrophe by the insurance industry.
The declaration is designed to fastback the processing of claims and payments, the Insurance Council of Australia said.
The Council estimates the damage bill will hit $38 million after latest house loss estimates.
“Insurers are focused on assisting their customers as quickly as possible, and the catastrophe declaration means claims from this bushfire will be given priority,” ICA chief executive Rob Whelan said.
“Staff at some companies have volunteered to return from their holidays to ensure inquiries and claims can be handled swiftly.”
“The ICA urges locals and visitors to the region to not take unnecessary risks and to heed the advice from emergency services, and listen to the local ABC radio station for updates.”
Victorian Country Fire Authority deputy incident controller Mark Gunning said 116 houses had been destroyed in the 2200-hectare Jamieson Track blaze.
“That will probably be the final number, as we’ve just completed an extensive search,” Mr Gunning told AAP on Saturday.
Wye River has lost 98 homes and Separation Creek 18.
Emergency Management Victoria Commissioner Craig Lapsley said the blaze was intense though not large, and had been pushed along by strong winds.
It could continue burning until January or February because a dousing of rain on Saturday was unlikely to do much.
The ICA have set up a disaster hotline – 1800 734 621 – to help policyholders.
#Lorne Keith Pakenham is a photographer & vol for the CFA. This is some of his excellent photography #vicFires pic.twitter.com/kIXTlRQmJF
— Incident Alert-VicSA (@incident_alert) December 25, 2015Homes destroyed, lives saved
The Great Ocean Rd bushfire claimed no lives but destroyed at least 53 houses and damaged others.
Officials today praised the decision by thousands to flee the Otways Ranges blaze before it hit Wye River and Separation Creek.
A third settlement, Kennett River, came perilously close to burning and the coastal resort town of Lorne also was spared.
Stopping short of declaring it a miracle that no lives were lost or serious injuries incurred, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews praised firefighters who saved homes and tourists who fled.
Mr Andrews said today that three assessment teams were on the ground before telling homeowners about any losses.
On the zero death toll, he said: “That’s something we can be very proud of.”
There were 35 houses razed in Wye River and 18 in Separation Creek, about 160km southwest of Melbourne.
The emergency warning has been lifted at Lorne and the Great Ocean Rd will be opened from Torquay to Lorne.
But it will be closed between Lorne and the worst-affected areas. A sharp fall in temperature overnight plus rain helped dampen the more than 2000ha fire.
Grants of up to $1300 will be paid to those forced to live with further payments to homeowners who lost property.
Of the 334 houses in the two impacted settlements, 80 were primary residences.
The Great Ocean Rd is Victoria’s main international tourist destination and today marks what should be the beginning of its busiest period.
Community meetings were planned for Torquay at 10am and Apollo Bay at 2pm today.
Bushfire strikes tourist towns
Rachel Baxendale, Tessa Akerman
Up to 60 homes were feared lost late last night and hundreds more were under direct threat as an out-of-control bushfire raged on Victoria’s southwest coast, prompting the evacuation of thousands of Christmas holiday-makers from tourist towns along the Great Ocean Road.
Early property loss estimates point to scores of houses being affected in Wye River and Separation Creek about 150km southwest of Melbourne but the resort town of Lorne was under threat at 9pm.
There were no immediate reports of loss of life or injuries.
Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley last night confirmed that 53 houses had been razed near Separation Creek, which had 18 houses destroyed, and Wye River, which lost 35.
“We’d suggest very strongly that we’ll lose quite a lot of property in those locations,” Mr Lapsley said. “We’re definitely in the 50s, if not above.”
Mr Lapsley said fire crews were concerned the fire could turn around and head back towards Wye River with an expected wind change, destroying even more houses.
The fire had passed through Wye River by 8pm and was moving southwest towards Kennett River.
Emergency services doorknocked residents in Separation Creek and Wye River shortly before midday to instruct them to evacuate down the coast to Apollo Bay.
CHRISTMAS DAY: How the fires spread
Residents in nearby Kennett River and Grey River were evacuated a short time later. Lorne — one of Victoria’s biggest tourist towns — was evacuated just before 5pm.
Residents in Lorne, Allenvale and Cumberland River were told their lives would be at risk if they did not leave before 7pm, as the 2000ha fire burned in rugged terrain ahead of an expected 180-degree wind change expected to send the fire towards the towns.
Lorne’s year-round population of about 1500 swells to 16,000 over Christmas.
More than 300 Metropolitan Fire Brigade and Country Fire Authority firefighters spent their Christmas fighting the Surf Coast fire with 60 tankers, six water bombers and two large air tankers.
The Great Ocean Road was closed between Bell Brae and Skenes Creek, but the tourist road remained open for evacuees.
Mr Lapsley said there was a strong possibility the Falls music festival, which brings 17,000 campers to bushland near Lorne over New Year, may not go ahead.
He said emergency services would meet organisers at the weekend to determine the fate of the festival, which is being headlined by British indie rockers Bloc Party, Foals and the Wombats, and Australian star Courtney Barnett.
The blaze, which began with a lightning strike more than a week ago, was less than 7km from Lorne before the wind change last night, which was expected to bring wind gusts of up to 60km/h and a 10C drop in temperature, having hit 34C yesterday — the hottest Christmas Day since 1999 when the mercury rose to 36C.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s duty forecaster, Richard Carlyon, said five to 15 millimetres of rain was predicted to fall overnight, easing conditions for firefighters.
Colac Otway Shire Council’s general manager of development and community services, Brydon King, who was co-ordinating the evacuation refuge for residents on the southwest side of the fire at the Apollo Bay Leisure Centre, said many people in the area were holiday-makers who had opted to return to Geelong and Melbourne.
About 100 residents from Separation Creek, Wye River, Kennett River and Grey River had attended the evacuation centre by midafternoon yesterday.
“We’re working with agencies including the Red Cross and police to find accommodation for these people,” Mr King said.
Kennett River Surf Life Saving Club captain Jason Menz, who evacuated to Apollo Bay with his family, said most people had left town by 12.30pm, before the evacuation notice was issued.
“We’re used to it,” he said. “We have no help … you know to get out early.”
Mr Menz said he was aware of two people who had chosen to stay in Kennett River following the evacuation, but he believed they were well prepared.
Federal Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg was forced to evacuate from Lorne, where he had been celebrating Christmas with his family.
“We have been going to Lorne for more than 30 years on vacation and never had to leave under such circumstances,” Mr Frydenberg said.
The Red Cross encouraged locals to register on its website, the Register. Find. Reunite service, so that their loved ones could be assured of their safety.
A second fire that had threatened homes at Sunbury, on Melbourne’s northwestern fringe, was downgraded from an emergency warning to a watch and act late yesterday after more than 150 firefighters had battled the grassfire in 35C heat.
Additional reporting: Herald Sun, AAP
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