Mark Kelly of Kellbell Earthworks in Seymour has been grading fire breaks at farms in the fire zones near Ruffy. Image taken at Caveat-Dropmore Rd, Caveat.
One person has died, homes have been destroyed, and countless farms decimated in the Longwood and Yarroweyah fires.
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As of 3pm on Monday, 136,000 hectares had burnt in the Longwood fire, and it was still not under control.
Firefighters were first called to two grass fires burning on the side of the Hume Fwy in the Longwood area at about 2.29pm on Wednesday, January 7.
As emergency warnings to leave now or take shelter immediately flooded in, residents were cautioned that disastrous conditions would arise in the days following the initial blaze, with Friday, January 9 declared to have a Catastrophic Fire Danger Rating in the region.
Ruffy CFA captain George Noye captured the devastation at Ruffy.
Photo by
George Noye
Total Fire Bans were declared for the northern country for four days from Thursday, as temperatures hit 45.3℃ in Shepparton on Thursday and 44.1℃ on Friday.
On Thursday, January 8, the fire began to spread from the Longwood, Ruffy, Tarcombe, Upton Hill, Dropmore, Caveat and Terip Terip region into Avenel, Euroa, Whiteheads Creek, Trawool and surrounds.
Firefighters from many locations gathered in Euroa to fight the Longwood fire on Friday.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
During the evening of Friday, January 9, residents were alerted of an expected wind change, causing the fire to head back towards Strathbogie.
As it grew, the fire became managed in four different sections – Longwood, Alexandra, Yea and Mansfield.
More than 150 structures have been lost in the blaze so far, including an historic primary school in Ruffy, as well as livestock, cropping land, and vineyards.
It is not yet known how many of those structures that have been lost were houses.
Mark Kelly of Kellbell Earthworks in Seymour sent in this image of Hughes Creek while he was grading fire breaks at farms in the fire zones near Ruffy.
On Friday, police reported that three people were missing in the Longwood fire after firefighters warned them to take shelter and then returned a few hours later to see the house they were standing in front of had been burnt to the ground.
By Saturday, there was good news, with the announcement that the trio had been found safe and well in Benalla.
On Sunday afternoon, Victoria Police confirmed that human remains were found in the Longwood bushfire area.
Police accessed a fire-affected stretch off Yarck Rd at Gobur and found the remains 100 metres from a vehicle.
The person has been identified as local cattle farmer Max Hobson.
The cause of the blaze is still unknown, and, while many of the emergency warnings have been eased, parts of the fire are still out of control.
An area that had recently burnt near Murray Valley Hwy, near the Benalla-Tocumwal turn off at Yarroweyah.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
During the catastrophic fire conditions on Friday, a blaze broke out at Yarroweyah at about 1pm, quickly spreading along the Benalla-Tocumwal Rd.
About 2.30pm a ‘leave immediately’ warning was issued for residents of Katamatite, Katunga, Muckatah, Naring, Yarroweyah and Yarroweyah South, with the fire out of control.
At 6.28pm, Katamatite residents were told to evacuate immediately, as the fire was expected to reach there within two hours.
It was a nervous few hours for many, until they were given the all clear to return home later that evening.
At lunchtime on Monday, a State Control Centre spokesperson said 1531 hectares and 12 structures were affected by the fire.
The spokesperson said it was unconfirmed how many of the structures were houses or sheds, but homes were most certainly lost.
Grazing and cropping lands, as well as at least one orchard, were burnt in the fire.
With many power poles burnt in the fire, on Friday afternoon the area also faced widespread power outages.
Firefighters having a debrief after a hard day’s work at Yarroweyah on Saturday.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Shepparton was also hit with power outages on Friday, with 1586 Powercor customers left without power after an outage in Benalla Rd.
While the worst was happening to those around them, the Greater Shepparton community, and those from further afield, has banded together to help those in neighbouring towns.
CFA volunteers have been hard at work on the fire front for days, with others such as Shepparton’s Azem Elmaz and his People Supporting People team cooking for them.
The Rapid Relief Team, a charitable arm of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, also supported firefighters with food at the Yarroweyah fire.
Rapid Relief Team’s Laurie Young, Arne Young, Michael Mathews, Tammy Mathews, Amy Young and Georgia Young supplied food and drinks for firefighters at Yarroweyah.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Twenty-two pellets of non-perishable food, toiletries, pet food and water were gathered in just five hours after Greater Shepparton City Council put a call-out for donations.
Other organisations and people offered to take in livestock and pets, while others still are collecting donations for fire-affected residents and hay for farmers.
On Monday morning, a State Control Centre spokesperson said firefighters were now working to secure the perimeters of fires while there were lower temperatures and higher humidity, before the weather heated up again next week.
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