Imagine watching your home, your livelihood, and everything you've worked for threatened by an unstoppable inferno. That was the reality for residents of central Victoria as the Longwood bushfire tore through their communities. This is the story of survival, loss, and the unwavering spirit of those who faced the flames head-on.
On the outskirts of Yarck, a quiet farming town in central Victoria, the earth continues to smolder, a stark reminder of the devastation. Gumtrees still flicker with flames, and white ash dances in the air, painting a grim picture of nature's raw power. Across the region, homes have been reduced to twisted metal and rubble, with brick chimneys often standing as the only somber monuments to what once was.
Amidst this destruction, there are stories of incredible resilience. Dave Rigby, a resident of the area, stands on his property, pointing to the blackened ground just meters from his back fence. Yet, the grass beneath his feet is vibrantly green, his garden remains almost untouched, and unbelievably, his house still stands tall. "I was actually preparing to leave at 10 am yesterday," Rigby recounted on Sunday. "I went down the street to talk to my neighbors, they had just gone to leave, but by that time, you just couldn’t get out. All the roads were cut."
Trapped, Rigby sprang into action. Prepared with bore water and a generator, he ingeniously rigged up sprinklers across his property and tirelessly hosed down his house. Along with about five other neighbors, they worked tirelessly to protect their small street. Miraculously, many of the homes were saved. "I was stressed," he admitted. "The wind was just howling through here. You couldn’t see because of the smoke. The trees were just bent over."
But here's where it gets controversial... While Rigby and some of his neighbors managed to defend their homes, others weren't so lucky. Was this a matter of preparedness, luck, or something else entirely? Could more have been done to help those who lost everything?
Meanwhile, Yarck’s Country Fire Authority (CFA) members were battling the blaze an hour north in Longwood, where it originated. They were forced to retreat repeatedly, ultimately defending their own homes. Rigby points to the nearby hills, his voice heavy with sorrow, noting the homes of neighbors that were completely razed. The dairy farm on the ridge, the small shack at the end of the road, and his back neighbor – all gone. They lost everything. "We were pinched in the middle of it," he explained. "You could just see flames from the ridge line, all through down here. It was calm, calm, calm, and then just hectic."
As bushfires continue to rage across Victoria, evacuated residents are desperate to return home. But authorities must first ensure their safety. The full extent of the damage remains unknown, but the numbers are staggering: at least 300 structures destroyed, including 80 homes, and 350,000 hectares burned. Tragically, one person lost their life, their body found near Yarck Road at Gobur.
Social media has become a lifeline for anxious residents, with desperate pleas for information about their homes, their livestock, and whether anyone can provide water or spare feed. On the other side of the Yarck ridge, Kathy Munslow returned to her Gunyah Animal Healing Sanctuary to find many of her animals injured, hungry, and some missing. "The animals are standing in smouldering paddocks and the fence is still burning," she recounted, her voice filled with despair. "The only thing standing here is my house, which the CFA saved because the fire came within three inches on all sides. Everything else is gone. I’m just here on my own, feeling really scared."
Like many in the area, Munslow is desperately searching for food for her surviving animals. She had recently spent $3,000 on hay, which is now nothing but a pile of ash. And this is the part most people miss... While $3,000 might not seem like a lot to some, for a struggling charity like hers, it represents an entire year's worth of feed, now gone in an instant. The fire also destroyed her generator, leaving her without power, water, or phone reception.
Down the road, the only business open in Yarck is the pub. Chris Charman is keeping it running while his friend, the proprietor, is desperately trying to save his own property. On Saturday morning, it took Charman four hours to travel just 15km to find his own house burned to the ground. But he selflessly brushed aside his own loss, more concerned about his friends who had lost livestock and their livelihoods. "So many houses, and so many farms are gone," Charman lamented. "No one actually knows how bad it is. So many livestock are dead."
The surrounding farms are littered with the devastating aftermath: piles of hay still burning in paddocks, dead animals lining the roads – koalas, cows, and carcasses so badly burned they are unrecognizable. At a community meeting in Seymour on Saturday night, Deputy Incident Controller Greg Murphy assured residents that they were working to get people back to their properties as quickly and safely as possible. Some areas are still ablaze, and the Longwood fire has spread across 136,000 hectares. Downed powerlines, fallen trees blocking roads, and thick smoke add to the challenges. A simple wind change could ignite a new area. "We’re not out of the woods yet," Murphy warned.
The immediate priorities are clear: control the fire, secure the roads, and provide desperately needed relief. "It’s not a long process, but it is a thorough process," Murphy explained. "And we will do it safely. Unfortunately, I did hear a comment this morning that if you take too long, we’re just going to go around it. Please consider that behaviour." This raises a crucial question: how do you balance the urgency of returning home with the need for safety and thorough assessment? Is impatience justified in the face of such devastating loss?
In a display of community spirit, gun shops have begun donating ammunition to exhausted farmers, to humanely put down suffering livestock. In Mansfield, Shane Curley had already given out hundreds of rounds by Sunday morning. "I had a couple of farmers in yesterday," he said, his voice cracking with emotion. "They had 500-600 sheep, so I just gave them a bunch of ammo. There will be thousands of cattle and sheep that are burnt that…" He trailed off, before adding, "This will be very hard." Curley recalls the aftermath of the 2019-20 fires, when he closed his gun shop for over three months to help farmers euthanize livestock. With his wife, Mandy, he plans to cook for farmers and assist with euthanizing animals, just as they did before. "Yeah, it’s not going to be good," he said. "I will probably need more donations, but I don’t mind handing out ammo if I can just do something to help."
State Nationals MP Annabelle Cleeland and her husband, who own a farm outside Euroa, were forced to evacuate. Unable to check on their stock, she fears they may have lost 1,000 sheep. "We don’t know yet, but we need to get in there because we’re looking after animals," Cleeland emphasized. "That is our job as farmers. There is this deep innate sense of protection to get back there to make sure they’ve got food and water, because we will not let them starve like that, that’s just torturous." Her electorate sits at the top of the fire map, and she says they are transitioning from the initial fight to the recovery phase. Together with a group of locals, she is organizing a drive to provide animal feed to those in need. "Everyone here has been impacted by this tragedy. It’s no one, no one will be unscathed," she concluded.
The Longwood bushfire serves as a stark reminder of the devastating power of nature and the resilience of the human spirit. What do you think are the most important lessons to be learned from this tragedy? And what more can be done to support these communities as they rebuild their lives?
