Three homes destroyed as massive bushfire continues to burn

At least three homes and nearly a dozen outbuildings have been destroyed as a huge bushfire continues to burn out of control in the Grampians National Park.

Cooler, settled conditions in the Grampians have allowed emergency crews to start initial impact assessments, as authorities warn property loss numbers will grow.

Three homes and 11 outbuildings have been lost in the Grampians fire so far.Credit: Justin McManus

The blaze, which has a perimeter stretching more than 380 kilometres, has scorched more than 75,000 hectares and is expected to burn into the new year due to dry conditions and difficult, mountainous terrain.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done to confirm the rest of the impact assessment,” State Control Centre spokesman Luke Heagerty said.

Three homes have been lost in the town of Moyston, while 11 outbuildings have been destroyed by the fire across Moyston and Pomonal, which was devastated by fire earlier this year.

“These numbers will continue to evolve over the next couple of days,” Heagerty said.

Authorities have reported stock losses, as well as bee hive, fencing, pasture and hay losses from the fire, which has burned since early last week.

Forest Fire Management Victoria spokesman Chris Hardman said it was thanks to firefighters that the blaze was not worse.

“Without their hard work, we would have had much bigger fires causing much bigger damage,” Hardman said.

“On behalf of all Victorians I would like to thank them because what they did on Boxing Day in extreme fire danger saved a lot more anguish and pain that Victorians now don’t have to suffer.”

Three watch and act alerts are current in and around the Grampians National Park. The area from Long Gully Road to College Road remains unsafe to return to.

Halls Gap residents were advised they could return home on Friday, but the park remains closed to tourists.

Conditions in western Victoria are expected to remain settled and mild over the weekend, before westerly winds give way to warmer northerlies on Monday.

Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent said the week ahead would be more favourable for fire crews.

“Weather over the next week looks relatively stable,” he said.

“This will allow us time to stabilise the fires and continue backburning operations, and look to support the community further.”

Hardship payments have become available for people with homes in evacuation areas or who have suffered property damage, via the state and federal-funded Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

A one-off payment of $680 per adult and $340 per child up to a maximum of $2380 per eligible family has been offered to help cover essentials such as food, clothing, medication and accommodation.

As fire crews in Victoria enjoy the cool change, a total fire ban has been issued for NSW’s northern slopes region, as dry conditions, gusty winds and temperatures into the high 30s descend on Tamworth, Inverell and the Liverpool Plains.

“We do have heatwave conditions continuing, and warnings current for northeastern parts of NSW and much of Queensland,” weather bureau meteorologist Sarah Scully said.

Multiple fires are burning or have recently been contained in NSW, but only one grassfire near Tamworth has progressed beyond the advice warning level. Showers and storms developing during the afternoon and evening may be severe, Scully said.

With AAP

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