Dadswell Bridge fire threat reduced as Pomonal, Halls Gap locals await news
The fire threat at Dadswell Bridge has reduced, while Pomonal residents sheltering in Stawell have been given the all clear to go home.
Bushfires have caused a trail of destruction in the Grampians region overnight and the extent of homes lost is yet to be determined.
It comes as a man died after the most destructive storms in years lashed the state.
Premier Jacinta Allan confirmed a farmer was killed as the “catastrophic” weather event swept through South Gippsland on Tuesday.
On Wednesday evening the state government launched its first tranche of emergency relief payments to help people impacted by the fires to help them buy food, clothing, medication and accommodation.
All people who live in evacuation areas are eligible for $640 per adult, $320 per child and a maximum of $2240 per family.
To apply eligible residents need to go to an Emergency Relief Centre and produce identification such as a Medicare card or driver’s license.
Pomonal residents given all clear
Pomonal residents have been told they may return home as long as they carry their drivers’ licenses.
They were told during a community meeting at the Stawell relief centre on Thursday.
On Thursday afternoon the CFA has said the fire threat is reduced at Dadswell Bridge, though activity near Mt Stapylton is expected to continue for some time.
Firefighters continue to work in the area, where 4437ha have been burnt.
Meanwhile, a bushfire spanning about 2236ha at Grampians National Park, Bellfield — closer to Pomonal — is not yet under control.
The CFA said it believes 24 homes have been lost at Pomonal and one at Dadswell Bridge.
’A wall of fire came over the top of us’
Brave firefighters have detailed the moment they were swept up in roaring flames that burned over their truck in Victoria’s west on Wednesday.
Ballarat CFA Deputy Brigade officer Jarrod Pegg and his crew, Jeremy Gumley, Brett Marshall, Liam Ryan and Georgia Cook were on Tuesday travelling to Pomonal’s main township, 245 km northwest of Melbourne, when they were caught up in a rising fire front that swept over their fire truck as they diverted to help residents salvage some homes that had not yet destroyed.
Mr Pegg said the entire team remained calm and miraculously escaped injury after fire conditions changed around them “quite fast” in a matter of seconds.
“Out of nowhere, a significant wall of fire came over the top of us. So it was an almost instant effect that as soon as that came through that we made the call to go into protection mode,” Mr Pegg said.
“It was a rapid change in wind that caused a significant firewall to approach our truck and come over us while we were still out. So we had very little time to react to the situation.
“It was very, very fast. So fortunately, our training kicked in and we are trained for this type of activity.”
Mr Pegg said a wall of fire had surrounded the property they were on before moving towards Pomonal’s main town.
“The burnover activity probably occurred within 20 minutes of us arriving on scene, so the fire was impacting the town almost immediately as we arrived in the actual township,” he said.
“There was certainly a lot of smoke. There was a large plume of smoke as we approached Pomonal, as we entered the township, you could see that there was significant wind, a very strong wind was blowing through.”
Mr Pegg said the blaze was “quite an intense fire” that no firefighter hoped to see, despite training for all fire scenarios.
“While we don’t like to see it and hope it never happens, we train for every season,” he said.
“We’re very proud of how calm my crew were in that situation. Given the circumstances, there was a lot of noise, a lot of activity going on. My crews were undertaking the tasks they had to do of getting blankets out for the crew members, putting in our Mayday radio messaging and waiting to hear responses to that messaging,” he said.
“Everyone played a part in ensuring the protection and safety of ourselves.
“All I had to do was inform my team that we would go into a burn over. I didn’t have to think twice about what was happening next. Everyone did the task that they had to do.
“It was just like clockwork. I couldn’t expect anything better from the people I was with.”
A heat shield, fire curtains, rain water, fire blankets and airconditioning inside their truck also helped keep the crew from being burned during the blaze.
“We use the training that we had. Their training guided us and supported us through that process. There was … no panic in what we were doing,” Mr Pegg said.
Mr Pegg said his team were ready to get back to assisting the community as soon as they had a debrief about the burnover and were checked by paramedics.
“We had a quick conversation about what had occurred, some time to just chill out a little bit and relax, bring our fluid levels back up and assess as to what their next actions will be,” he said.
“We were adamant that we’re going to go back out and continue protecting the community.”
Mr Pegg said fire pattern’s in this year’s blazes had been some of the most unpredictable in the region to date.
“This fire would probably be one of the more erratic fires that I’ve been to and one of the larger fires, and I’ve certainly been to many large fires,” he said.
“This occasion, it was quite erratic and did change quite a bit from through the whole time. What you might be working on at one moment changed significantly based on the wind changes.”
Man dies after being struck by debris
Jacinta Allan, speaking from the State Control Centre on Wednesday, said a 50-year-old dairy farmer was killed in Mirboo North.
“Very sadly, we’ve had one fatality confirmed. A dairy farmer in Mirboo North who was killed in the storm that went through South Gippsland last night,” she said.
Police said the man was working on a roof at a property on Boolarra-Mirboo North Rd in Darlimurla when he was struck by debris about 6pm.
He died at the scene.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner but the death is not being treated as suspicious.
The Premier said the weather event was the second since the fires of Black Saturday in 2009, 15 years ago, with a catastrophic rating.
She said 220,000 customers remained without power this morning.
Victorian Farmers Federation President Emma Germano paid tribute to the farmer who was killed in Tuesday’s storm.
“On behalf of all Victorian farmers, the VFF extends its heartfelt condolences to the Mirboo North farmer sadly killed in yesterday’s wild weather,” she said.
Ms Germano said farmers continued to be left in the dark, blaming a “complete lack of planning” from the Allan government.
“Victoria is still feeling the impact of one of our largest ever power blackouts and the complete lack of planning and resilience by the government is once again crippling our state. “We must do better,” she said.
Ms Allan said the massive cost associated with recovery was unlikely to drive up power bills.
“The work that’s being done to repair and recover from this catastrophic event isn’t something that will necessarily impact on power bills,” she said.
Ms Allan said favourable weather conditions today had resulted in the Pomonal fire being downgraded to a watch and act.
Homes razed by fire
More than a dozen homes in Pomonal were reduced to complete rubble as fire crews continued to put out smouldering fires.
Huge heaps of tin, bricks and metal lay where houses had been standing just hours earlier.
Flames roared just metres from the Pomonal Uniting Church but the efforts of brave fireys managed to save the structure.
Just 15 white picket fence palings remained standing at one Cherrytree Rd property — the rest of the home and fence was completely destroyed.
Burnt and fallen trees lay strewn across much of the dirt roads around town, slowly burning away.
The town’s primary school and CFA building remained in tact and acted as a makeshift relief centre for police, the CFA and forest management crews.
Residents were on Wednesday afternoon yet to return to their homes, with only emergency services roaming the streets.
Several water bombers continued dousing the flames from above.
It appeared that the number of homes that had perished outweighed those still standing, devastation marked on every local road.
A local CFA member offered his crews a box of ice creams as the freezer at the general store had failed – with much of the food likely going to waste.
General store owner Nadya Miller said her community was reeling as anxious residents waited to return home.
She said they may not be able to return for days.
“It’s just devastating,” she said.
“It’s such a tight community and we’ve so indiscriminately lost so many houses.
“(But) there’s obvious jubilance of being alive, we haven’t lost anybody that we know of.”
She has heard reports of up to 50 homes being lost.
Ms Miller, who had owned the store for 16 years, allowed locals and CFA crews to “take anything” from the store they needed.
Power to her store remained cut on Wednesday afternoon, with a diesel generator running the meat freezer and drinks fridge.
Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent said homes had been lost at Pomonal but authorities were not yet able to confirm the exact number due to dangerous conditions. “We’ve got to make sure it’s safe to go in. Trees do continue to continue to fall,” he said.
He said almost all fires had started due to lightning strikes.
In a statement posted to social media Lowan MP Emma Kealy said people fleeing the fire ground had reported 25 to 30 houses had been lost in Pomonal and surrounding areas.
“Devastating losses to fire in Pomonal,” she wrote.
“Thankfully there are no reports of lives lost at this stage.”
She said 100 people had taken shelter at the place of refuge in Stawell and 20 in Ararat.
Pomonal Cottage Grampians owner Bela Pechnig has lost his business within six months of buying land
Although he and his wife and two children have friends to stay with in Stawell, Mr Pechnig is waiting to see if the single cottage still standing on his land is liveable.
“I feel a little angry. I don’t know why, because there’s no one to blame. But it’s just a reaction,” he said.
“We put everything in there. That’s our jobs. That’s our income. I have not even a bed for my child. I was nervous not knowing what was going on, but we found out that it’s not there anymore, and since then it’s more sadness.
“You do what you have to do. And we’ll build it up again. You just go. Go and do what you have to do, and in between you just cry a bit, and then you go again.
“You cope with it somehow. Sometimes better, sometimes worse.”
Mr Pechnig has set up a fundraiser and applied for financial help to get his “once little paradise” back up and running, expecting it nevertheless to take years of work.
Communities gather at relief centre
On Wednesday morning, about 70 people arrived at a relief centre at the Stawell Health and Community Centre.
Pam Richardson and Chris Callaghan have lived on Wildflower Drive in Pomonal for six years.
They believe their house has been destroyed.
“The last few years the weather’s been different – there’s been more humidity, we haven’t had the same sort of heat and wind,” Ms Richardson said.
“We were expecting it to be a bad day yesterday (Tuesday), but in the morning it was so deceiving: it was cool, it was really humid, there was no wind early on.
“Then within an hour it changed completely. People were saying that they saw the lightning strikes hitting the ridges.
“From our side, we knew something was going on, but we couldn’t see anything for quite some time.”
Ms Richardson and Mr Callaghan left after packing up their dogs and trying to find their cat.
Alongside most of their possessions, their wedding rings remained at the property.
“We have lost everything, but we’re alive, and no one got killed trying to save our house,: Ms Richardson said.
“It’s a random thing; it’s an act of nature. It’s nobody’s fault.”
Arriving at the Stawell relief centre, the couple are now trying to figure out what help they can get.
“It’s overwhelming, the generosity of people,” Ms Richardson said.
“It’s amazing. People are incredible how everyone pulls together. It’s a close-knit community, it’s a great community.”
“We’re unlucky, we’re a bit shell-shocked, but it’s been worse.”
Michelle Stewart and Steve Smith said they were unsure if their Pomonal property remained standing as they arrived at the relief centre with a dog and blue-tongued lizard.
“We’re waiting to find out,” Ms Stewart said.
“Not 100 per cent sure. We’ve heard that it is, but other people have heard that it is and then heard that it isn’t.”
Pomonal resident Dale Pleming arrived with his wife, children, and puppy.
He described his state as “mixed emotions,” he said.
“I think our place is all right, but it got pretty close.
“We’re just waiting to see what’s going on and when we can get back out there.
“Just a waiting game.”
Stawell residents Marlene and Sandra came to the relief centre to see if they could help out.
“We’re just going to find out what they need,” Marlene said.
“That’s our plan for the moment.”
Bushfire – Advice for Grampians National Park, Mt Stapylton. Threat Is Reduced. For more info: https://t.co/y9GLnJU9cH#vicfires
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) February 13, 2024
Canadian Millie Rippon, who worked at a farm in Pomonal with eight others from France, Germany, England, and Canada, stayed overnight at the relief centre.
“We found out yesterday that there was a fire at the property line and then this morning found out that most of the property has been lost to fire,” Ms Rippon said.
“I evacuated first thing in the morning when I saw the first fire go up on the Vic Emergency map.
“I think within the hour everyone had filtered out of the farm.”
The international farm workers are all on 417 working holiday visas, which require 88 days of regional work.
With their place of employment ravaged by fire, Ms Rippon said she and her colleagues would be glad to help repair fire damage.
“It all seems pretty up in the air; it all seems like nobody’s really got the answers and we’re all going to be a bit stressed for a little bit,” she said.
“We’ve lost the dorm, which has been our home … and all of the stuff that was left in it — most of our personal stuff was left there.
“I’ve got all of my important documents and all the things that are sentimental to me, but I don’t know that you can say the same for everyone else at the farm — they didn’t have the time to get prepared and make the bags they would have wanted.”
She said she felt sad and anxious for the community.
Ms Rippon and other workers had been offered a home to stay in.
Gippsland resident Matt Evans drove out west for a family reunion and funeral, plans which are now uncertain.
“We were spreading grandma and grandpa’s ashes, and now we can’t even do that,” he said.
“If it’s not a blackout on one side, you’ve got a fire on the other.
“At the moment, we don’t know what’s going on – we’re trying to figure it out.
“From one disaster to another.”
I've just left a briefing at the State Control Centre.
— Jacinta Allan (@JacintaAllanMP) February 13, 2024
The situation is still evolving, but at this stage we believe a number of homes may have been lost to fire. pic.twitter.com/nYYuvPu7m2
Watch and Act alerts in place
Meanwhile, the status of the blaze in the north of the Grampians National Park at Dadswells Bridge was reduced to an advice message early on Wednesday morning but a Watch and Act remained for communities in Roses Gap and Ledcourt.
Communities around Ballarat were given a reprieve overnight and the bushfire threat was reduced.
The Newtown fire, which was threatening Scarsdale and Smythesdale, was downgraded to a Watch and Act about 2am Wednesday, however Strickland and Staffordshire Reef roads remain closed.
The SES said it had received more than 2700 calls for help across the state since 9am Tuesday.
260,000 properties across the state were also still without power due to wild storms across Melbourne and Victoria.
On Tuesday, five firefighters had a lucky escape after flames swept over their vehicle on the fireground at Pomonal near the Grampians National Park.
It came as hundreds of firefighters were battling two out-of-control fires in the region and after reports of several homes being engulfed in flames.
The CFA issued a statement on Tuesday night confirming “members sustained minor injuries after their vehicle was involved in a burnover” but could not yet confirm the loss of houses.
In the statement, the CFA said the members were assessed by paramedics.
“CFA has many hundreds of members on the fireground this evening and our priority is ensuring their safety, as well as protecting the community,” it said.
Originally published as Dadswell Bridge fire threat reduced as Pomonal, Halls Gap locals await news
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