Little Desert rescue efforts, lodge lost, Dimboola to ‘take shelter’

Western Victoria is dealing with its second major bushfire of the summer with concerns more hot weather is still to come in February.

Victoria’s bushfire season is far from over with concerns CFA volunteers in the west of the state are starting to tire after a second large blaze broke out on Monday.

A rapid, dynamic and active fire in the Little Desert National Park spread to 65,000ha and forced the evacuation of Dimboola and two smaller communities of Wail and Pimpinio.

In comparison, the Grampians fire this summer burnt 76,000ha.

The Little Desert National Park fire, which spread to 65,000ha on Monday. Picture: Supplied by Marty Colbert

The Little Desert fire, started by lightning strikes, destroyed the Little Desert Nature Lodge and kilometres of fencing, stubbles and fodder.

Nhill farmer Marty Colbert, who fought the fire on a private rig at his brother’s property at Locheil, said: “When I left at midnight, the sky was red as blood red for miles”.

They lost the entirety of the new exclusionary fencing on the Little Desert’s edge, various stubbles, and dry fodder, but no livestock were lost.

“We were losing the battle, any time we tried to put it out, we ran out of water, had to leave and fill up on water,” he said.

“Nothing was going to stop it, it was an absolutely wicked day.”

Dimboola’s temperature peaked at 42C at 3.35pm on Monday with winds gusting to 65km/hour at 1.44pm, according to the BOM.

It was even hotter in Mildura (44.2C), Hopetoun (44C), Swan Hill (43.9C), Walpeup (43.7C) and Charlton (42.7C).

Hot temperatures are going to persist all week with back-to-back scorchers on Saturday and Sunday with Ouyen forecast to hit 40C and 42C.

The Little Desert fire in January 2025. Picture: Supplied by Marty Colbert

Earlier in 2024, crews had put in a significant fire break across Nhill-Harrow Road at the Little Desert, but it couldn’t stop the fire.

“They did a 10/10 job on it, it would be about 400m wide,” Mr Colbert said.

“The fire went all the way through the scrub from the Desert Lodge all the way down to the other side, and it went straight through it.”

Lawloit farmer and CFA member Alan Bennett said his daughter found the first fire after monitoring lightning strikes on her phone.

But the fires sparked in the Little Desert were an “impossible” task.

“I’ve never seen a fire travel that fast and burn that amount of country in that amount of time,” he said.

“We dodged a bullet at our end, the way the wind was blowing and the work done by the firebombers protected the flanks.

“A lot of work was done by private landholders making discs on open country next to the desert, and that makes a huge impact.”

Firefighters on the scene at the Little Desert National Park fire on Monday night. Picture: Supplied

He said CFA tankers, private units and landholders’ combined made a “hell of a good effort”.

Mr Bennett said putting an earth break around the edge of the fire, ahead of the weekend’s hot weather, would be crucial.

Lowan MP Emma Kealy said the bushfire response was far from over.

“Next week we are expecting more bushfire weather,” she said.

“Our biggest issue is we’ve got a really tired volunteer base.

“Our CFA crews over this side of the state have basically been working since December 17 on the Grampians fire.

“We’ve now had the Little Desert, which has been totally burnt out in a day which is unheard of.”