Victorians warned to be ready for worst fire day in years, this Wednesday
A farmer who “lost the lot” when a raging fireball tore through his Raglan property says it turned from daylight to dark in 15 minutes, as communities in Victoria’s west brace for “a very dangerous” fire day on Wednesday.
Victoria is bracing for one of the most catastrophic fire days since the 2020 bushfire season, with flames fuelled by extreme heat and high winds set to threaten homes across the state.
Temperatures are set to reach the mid-40s across western Victoria by Wednesday in what authorities have described as “potentially catastrophic” conditions.
More than 17 watch and act alerts remain in place for towns including Amphitheatre, Bayindeen, Ben Nevis, Chute, Elmhurst, Eversley, Glenlogie, Glenpatrick, Mount Cole, Mount Lonarch, Green Hill Creek and Raglan.
The same warning is in place for the Main Lead and Waterloo areas. It is too unsafe to return.
An emergency warning issued about 11.55pm Sunday for residents in Chute, north of Raglan and Beaufort, has since been downgraded.
No further losses of residential homes have been reported.
Meanwhile, an emergency “Take Shelter Now” warning was issued on Sunday night to residents north of Ballarat.
Vic Emergency reported an out of control bushfire at Bayindeen Rocky Rd, Mt Lonarch, was travelling from an easterly direction towards Amphitheatre Rd.
Emergency services declared that it was too late to leave and that Chute residents must act immediately to survive by taking shelter indoors.
This Watch and Act message is being issued for Amphitheatre, Bayindeen, Elmhurst, Eversley, Glenlofty, Glenpatrick, Mount Cole, Mount Lonarch, Nowhere Creek, Raglan and surrounds
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) February 25, 2024
It is Not Safe to Return to the locations in the warning area.https://t.co/oJadR08JCLpic.twitter.com/rSoUgCpzl2
Homes lost as fires rage
By Sunday afternoon, six residential homes had been lost as bushfires continued to ravage the state’s west.
Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes said there were major concerns for the towns of Amphitheatre and Elmhurst.
“I had the opportunity yesterday (Saturday) to join the Premier and visit the Ballarat ICC ... and have a look from the air at the really large scale fire that has impacted those communities,” she said.
“It’s fair to say that fire is not yet under control.
“There are about 550 firefighters on the ground today and continued air attack in relation to trying to as best as possible suppress that fire, particularly around the edges because they want to make sure that they are well placed for the weather we are expecting to hit mid-week.”
Ms Symes said while there were no reports of any fatalities, injuries or missing people, emergency services held “grave concern” for Wednesday’s weather.
“We are expecting not only high temperatures but also wind is expected,” she said.
“I want to remind Victorians who are in fire-prone areas, particularly in the west and central parts of the state, you must have your fire plan developed.
“You must have the conversation with your families and your neighbours and know what you are going to do in the event of evacuation for your area.”
Bushfires across the western part of the state have razed almost 18,000ha – the equivalent of more than 8000 football ovals – since Thursday.
One of the six homes destroyed by fire sat in a huge heap of tin on Ferntree Gully Rd in Raglan.
The remnants of the brick home continued to smoulder on Sunday, with dozens of acres of property behind it also severely burnt.
Trees and branches lay across the dirt roads in Beaufort and Raglan as police diverted traffic away from much of the fire affected areas.
Hundreds of hectares of thick bushland has been charred and thick smoke is lingering.
Raglan farmer Damian Ferrari is still counting the cost after the bushfire tore through his 121ha property on Thursday.
The 58-year-old stayed to defend his home as a huge “fireball” engulfed his sheds, farm machinery, motorbikes and about 20 head of sheep.
“I’ve lost the whole lot, there’s not a fence or a blade of grass that’s not burnt,” he said.
“When the front come through, it was a big fire storm, and I looked to my mate and said ‘I think we’re f---ed here’.
“It went over the house and started on the other side, we had to keep going inside to get fresh air because there was none outside.
“I’ve been here all my life and that’s the worst fire I’ve seen by far.
“It was massively quick, it just turned from daylight to dark in 15 minutes and a big f---en ball of red came out of it.”
The shell of a quad bike and the structure of his fishing tinnie remained in his shed while hundreds of acres of grass had turned black.
Two dead kangaroos also lay in his front paddock, unable to escape the wall of fire.
The brick home opposite Mr Ferrari ws destroyed by the blaze, smouldering away in a huge scrap heap on Sunday.
The elderly occupants had fled to Ballarat before Mr Ferrari had to deliver the devastating news to the couple.
Mr Ferrari says his house wouldn’t be standing if it wasn’t for his good mate who stayed to give him a hand.
“If he hadn’t been with me, I’m pretty sure we would’ve lost the house, it was just too much to do on your own,” he added.
“The adrenalin is going through you, you’re racing around so you’re buggered, you get tired very quickly.
“It tore through the machinery shed, so I lost my boat, a motorbike, farm implements, everything in there.
“But the house is still here so that’s a bonus.”
About 250 community members gathered at the Beaufort Football Netball Club where they were told to further prepare for Wednesday’s dangerous fire conditions.
Anxious residents raised concerns about being notified of road closures and evacuation orders in the heat of the moment, with many still disconnected from power.
Locals said the elderly population also struggled to use social media and other technology, where the warning messages are being broadcasted.
“For me, having lots of experience with bushfires, the biggest issue is road closures, it’s too slow,” Beaufort local Chris Davis said.
“There’s not enough information.
“The chain of information is too slow, these are critical roads, there are some gaps there.
“There’s a lot of elderly people here and a lot of them, they don’t have reception out there.”
Premier ‘torn’ over devastation
Surveying the smouldering land from the air on Saturday afternoon with Ms Symes, Premier Jacinta Allan said she was deeply “torn” over the devastation caused by the fires so far.
“You can see damage to property on the ground, you can see damage to the beautiful environment. This is such a spectacular part of the world, people choose to live here and visit here,” she said.
“It’s a really difficult landscape to survey because you’re really torn in many ways by emotions. You’re torn by the devastation that you can see on the ground.
“It’s a very difficult image to view in terms of the loss and the damage, but it also speaks to the huge work that goes on in terms of the training and preparedness from the emergency services personnel.
“There has been significant land that has been burnt out from the fire that started Thursday morning and continues to run and continues to run strongly.”
Smoke billowed over Raglan and just north of Beaufort, where flames have left stretches of land blackened.
But fire crews managed to save dozens of properties, where flames reached within metres of some homes.
Three families in Raglan have lost their homes as the town remains an active fire zone, keeping displaced residents out.
It is not yet known how much livestock has been lost.
While dozens of houses in areas such as Raglan remained standing, Ms Allan said witnessing the damage caused so far added further concern about the conditions slated for next week.
“Wednesday into Thursday is going to be a very dangerous and difficult day across Victoria with that combination of high heat, extreme heat, high winds and dry lightning moving throughout the state,” she said.
“It is a very, very difficult and dangerous day ahead of us on Wednesday.
“This remains a fire of grave concern. There is going to be a considerable amount of work to be done on this fire, and also on supporting the local community.”
CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan said the “extreme and potentially catastrophic conditions” expected next week could mirror the 2020 bushfires, which killed five people and destroyed more than 300 homes.
“Wednesday concerns me,” he said. “This could be quite possibly the worst fire day Victoria has seen in four years.”
Residents across the Mallee and central and eastern regions of Victoria could be in danger this week and have been warned to prepare to leave if a southwesterly change arrives.
The warning comes as crews continue to battle the blaze near Buninyong, which is unlikely to be put out this week, but alerts for already-affected areas have been downgraded to watch and act orders amid calmer winds and a slight temperature drop on Friday.
Mr Heffernan said conditions were constantly changing.
“It’s not just this area that we’re watching, we’ll be watching right across the state,” he said. “I seriously need every Victorian that lives near bushland or lives in a rural area to do a few things in the next couple of days.
“Have a bushfire survival plan if you don’t have one, sit down with your family and have a conversation about what you are going to do in the event of a fire. Know what your plan will be leading into next week.
“It’s going to be a tough couple of days.”
Victorians who have lost their homes can access emergency disaster payments of up to $1000.
Originally published as Victorians warned to be ready for worst fire day in years, this Wednesday
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