‘Birds dropping out of the sky’: Wimmera farmers detail firefront

The Little Desert National Park fire burnt 95,000ha earlier this year leaving farmers scrambling to save their stock and properties.

Landholders across Victoria are facing an extensive and costly clean-up, after more than 900 fires during the bushfire season so far.

In the Wimmera, fencing volunteers have arrived and farmers are continuing to assess the damage after the Little Desert National Park fire burnt 95,000ha predominantly in one day on January 27.

Dry lightning caused the fire, which destroyed the Little Desert Nature Lodge, one home, two outhouses and paddock fencing, and caused wildlife and vegetation losses.

BlazeAid crews set up camp at Goroke to address the Little Desert fire recovery efforts on Monday. Other BlazeAid volunteers were based at the Willaura base camp to continue Grampians fencing.

Nhill farmer Andrew Colbert. Picture: Rachel Simmonds

Nhill farmer Andrew Colbert estimated he had lost about 2.5-4km of exclusion fencing out of 8km destroyed fencing, while his stock were safe.

He is part of the Winiam Fire Brigade, and was on his private tanker during the fire. He defended his property and a neighbouring home.

“My son had gone on the fire truck, I was sitting watching (the fire) grow twice as quick as it ever has,” he said.

“It was a thick, thick desert that hadn’t burnt for 20-30 years.

“There were birds dropping out of the sky.”

Winiam Fire Brigade captain Steve Pilgrim, who also farmed next to the Little Desert, said the clean-up would take years. He lost 10km of fencing.

“It was the heat, dry and wind. When you get all the stars to line up, you could nearly burn bare dirt,” he said.

Mr Pilgrim was on the Winiam truck during the fire, and helped guide a young farmer, Loch Taylor, to create wind breaks.

“He was using Google Maps to know where trees, poles and fences were,” Mr Pilgrim said.

“We would’ve been lost without the farmers and machinery. Just relying on a fire truck to put it out we never would’ve gotten it. The earthbreaks were just gold to us.”

Little Desert Nature Lodge director Moshe Kahn said he had a short-term and long-term goal for the property’s future, which was bought to connect students with nature.

“The shortened goal is to create something that we can get up pretty quickly, temporary buildings or a glamping environment,” he said.

“Longer term, our dream and aspiration is to rebuild.”

More than 70 emergency services personnel were working on fire rehabilitation tasks in Victoria, which would address public safety, threatened species, cultural values, and the rehabilitation of roads, tracks, and control lines on public and private properties.