Bushfires devastate Vic farms

ABOUT a dozen homes have been destroyed by bushfires, probably caused by lightning in “dynamic” weather conditions, in southwestern Victoria.

Hundreds of beef and dairy cattle and farm buildings have also been destroyed and 40,000ha of land burnt.

Authorities are warning the threat is still not over.

“We have hundreds of people on the ground, in the air, fighting these fires,” Deputy Premier James Merlino told a briefing yesterday afternoon.

“These fires continue and will continue through the course of day. The wind will remain in place for the course of the day, so we are in the middle of this firefight.”

Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley said not all of the homes destroyed were occupied and there had been no deaths or major injuries reported.

However, 800 people had been forced to seek shelter at relief centres. Authorities issued 51 emergency warnings, the highest level of warnings, and 29 advice messages.

“I think the community has responded exceptionally well,” Mr Lapsley said.

“[There have been] no significant injuries, no death, a very dynamic environment, I would say they have done exceptionally well.”

Firefighters and the communities faced a number of challenges because the fires started at night.

“The challenge is you can’t get fire trucks into some areas in the darkness. We are unable to fly aircraft and that means our suppression activity is suppressed somewhat,” Mr Lapsley told the briefing.

“But we were able to issue warnings that meant the community could make decisions about what they needed to do, particularly through the night.”

Police and fire investigators are looking into the causes of the fires, but authorities say it’s likely they are the result of lightning strikes that went through the region.

The major grass and bushfires began on Saturday, raged through the night and continued to burn yesterday.

Hundreds of beef and dairy cattle and farm buildings have been destroyed and 40,000ha of land burnt.

“The community’s done really well overnight to work a fire through the night, understand the warnings and look after themselves,” Mr Lapsley said.

“But there have been significant losses. We’ve lost homes, farm machinery and sheds, and that’s a huge impact on the community.”

Warnings have been issued for about 50 towns, stretching from Hamilton to Port Campbell, an area of more than 160km.

There are four major fires burning, the worst being a huge blaze at Terang, which is threatening the town of Cobden.

More than 22,000 homes are without power in the region amid the strong winds.