Daily London
Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch said those structures have either been destroyed or significantly damaged when last week’s fires took hold of more than 410,000 hectares of land and triggered a state of disaster declaration.
“Within that number, 228 homes are now destroyed,” he said at a press conference today.
“Fifteen homes have been damaged, and we know there’s over 450 outbuildings that have also been part of those numbers.”
The Longwood fire claimed 142 homes, the Harcourt fire claimed 54, and the Walwa fire claimed nine.
Victoria Police are investigating the causes of major fires, including the Ravenswood South and Walwa blazes, while arson and explosives detectives probe the Longwood fire that claimed a man’s life.
“As a consequence of the extreme weather events last week Victoria experienced a large number of fires, some of which are still burning,” the spokesperson said.
“At this time, the overwhelming majority of fires are believed to be as a result of natural causes.”
The emergency bushfires of last week have eased, and now only 12 watch and act warnings remain in place for blazes around the state.
But County Fire Authority chief Jason Heffernan warned residents there could be similar devastating scenes in the coming weeks.
”My message to Victorians today is our peak fire danger is in February. Please don’t think that this event is it,” he said at a press conference today.
“There is every chance that we could see weather patterns come in the next couple of weeks.
“It could see a return of very hot conditions, very strong northerly winds, and again threaten more communities across Victoria.”
The state and federal governments have today announced almost $82 million to restore and repair roads and public transport damaged in the fires, including barriers, signage and guardrails and cleaning up trees and debris.
Other state and federal support measures have exceeded $100 million.
“It’s so important that we continue to stand with Harcourt and other fire-affected communities and support them on the long recovery journey ahead,” Premier Jacinta Allan said.
