Bright open for business as bushfire recovery begins

Cool off in the river, visit the brewery or sip on some wine in the beautiful high country. The fire recovery is in full swing and locals say Bright is just as scenic as ever.

Fine food, wines and stunning scenery shine a light on bushfire hit Bright as the high country town welcomes back visitors.

Traders in Bright were forced to shut up shop for much of January as nearby blazes threatened the tourist hotspot.

But now it’s business as usual for locals and they’re keen for visitors to know their doors are open as the Herald Sun tour rolls into town this week.

Mark Holm of family-run winery Ringer Reef is shaking off the worry that they might lose this year’s vintage due to smoke damaged grapes.

Holidaying friends Chloe and Tabea, both 10, enjoy a swim in Bright river. Picture: Tony Gough

He assured that even if tests show that this year’s crop can’t be used for wine, they’ve plenty of stock to keep customers glasses full.

“There’s a lot worse off places than we are here, that’s for sure,” Mr Holm said.

“January was pretty dead but we’ve had good customer support and a reasonable amount of online sales that has kept us ticking along.

“The potential to not have a vintage will hurt, we’ll have to see how that plays out, but we’ve got stock in our storeroom so we’ve got wine to sell.”

Fires were kept out of the town and Bright’s famous foliage remains intact meaning the town will be picture perfect for visitors in town for the professional bike race.

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Simon Head, the owner of Everest Sports, said you’d never know Bright was in an evacuation zone.

“You can’t actually see the impact of the fires here. You drive up the Hume Freeway, into the valley and it’s burnt out — but you can’t see any of that here,” Mr Head said.

“Visually, it looks fantastic. I’m sure people would come into town and say ‘Mate, what are you talking about?’

“Bright is one of those really popular places, people will come back when the time is right.

“If some of those people come back over the next few weeks, I think we’ll have a fantastic Easter.

Bright Brewery staff Harry Borthwick and Madeleine Cooper. Picture: Tony Gough

Over at the Bright Brewery, venue manager Jules Morris told of how the local community is closer than ever after banding together during the bushfires.

“The nicest thing is that people want to support us so they’re ringing and ordering takeaways, having kegs sent to their pubs and things like that.

“The community been super supportive. On the days that we decided to open, when it was really smoky, we just opened for dinner and there was a lot of local support.

“One of the nice things about it was we had the opportunity to talk more with the locals and regulars, sometimes we don’t get the opportunity to do that.

“It was one of the pluses to a negative situation.”

Bright Brewery with staff Harry Borthwick (Bar Manager) and Madeleine Cooper (bar supervisor). Picture: Tony Gough

Ms Morris added that visitors have nothing to worry about if they’re thinking of visiting the town.

“The main thing is that people don’t feel scared to come here,” she said.

“Even though there might have been fires around, they were well maintained and the smoke in the air has definitely declined. It feels like things are getting back to normal.

“Just come back and holiday with us.”

Originally published as Bright open for business as bushfire recovery begins