Submitted by daniel on Mon, 12/01/2026 - 23:42 Picture Image Description Updated January 13, 2026 — 2:25pm,first published January 13, 2026 — 10:42am You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. More than 160 homes have been burnt down in the devastating fires across the state, as the full extent of last week’s catastrophic bushfires remains to be realised. A dozen major fires are still burning across Victoria, but calmer weather and the scaling back of emergency warnings have turned the focus to recovery. The largest increase in home losses was suffered by victims of Longwood fire, with authorities confirming that the blaze claimed 90 homes and 243 outbuildings, burning 144,000 hectares of land – an area roughly double the size of Singapore. “This is not a fire ground to be anywhere near, at this point in time,” Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch warned potential rubberneckers at a Tuesday press conference. Advertisement Wiebusch also said the cause of that fire, which on Monday was reported as being started by a trailer sparking on the Hume Freeway, was still unknown. “What I can tell you is the Victoria Police arson squad is still actively investigating this fire. At this stage, the cause has not been determined, and there are active investigations under way.” Across the state, 51 homes and three businesses were destroyed in the Harcourt-Ravenswood fire, 15 homes were lost in the Streatham fire, fire took four homes in the Walwa blaze and one home was lost in each of the fires in the Otways, Mount Mercer and Wonnangatta. Wiebusch said calmer weather brought some reprieve to the state, and there are no emergency warnings currently in effect. Twenty watch-and-act advice messages remain in the fire zones, some urging people to monitor changing conditions and others warning residents it is not safe for them to return home. Advertisement “The conditions have eased for today and for perhaps the next couple of days, but we are likely to see those conditions change as we head into next week,” he said. “There’s a lot of work going on now to open up what are very much roads that are still unsafe to be travelled.” Senior meteorologist Angus Hines said temperatures and wind speeds “aren’t particularly high”, which was good news for firefighters, but added that a lack of rain forecast was troublesome. “It is another dry day, so there’s no support or help from rain, which is sort of the No.1 thing we’d be hoping for at the moment across those active fire grounds,” he told the ABC. Advertisement A high fire danger rating has been declared for the Mallee, Wimmera, North Central, North East and South West districts, while other regions are considered to have moderate risk. On Tuesday, Premier Jacinta Allan announced that the state government has spent an initial $10 million in state and federal funding to assist uninsured fire victims with cleaning up their destroyed homes. An additional $5 million has been spent to waive tip fees for fire-affected communities. Allan made the announcement during a press conference at a health centre in Alexandra and was heckled by a member of the public who claimed the CFA was underfunded. “Shame on you, shame on your government for what you’ve done,” the woman said, according to Nine News. Advertisement Video captured a group of locals trying to corner the premier’s car as she arrived for the press conference, but they appeared to have the wrong vehicle. Allan said the claim of underfunding was false and peddling incorrect information could add stress on fire traumatised communities. Loading Allan and the CFA board and its senior management on Monday denied funding had been cut and defended the organisation’s ageing fleet – despite the comments appearing at odds with the CFA’s most recent figures. The confrontation occurred on the fringe of the Longwood fire, which claimed the life of cattle farmer Maxwell Hobson. Advertisement Prime Minister Anthony Albanese began his press conference in Canberra on Tuesday morning by expressing his condolences over Hobson’s death. “That community will be grieving today and I say to those people in Victoria, but also those in the flood-affected areas of north Queensland: this is not over,” Albanese said. “Please stay safe, listen to the authorities and once again, I thank the volunteers, the police and emergency services, the rural fire service and others who are helping each other get through what is a very difficult time.” Tuesday’s $15 million relief package follows Monday’s announcement that grants of up to $52,000 for householders who lost their homes in the fires and were not insured. Advertisement You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. More: Bushfires Extreme weather Victoria bushfires Angus Delaney is a reporter at The Age. Email him at angus.delaney@theage.com.au or contact him securely on Signal at angusdelaney.31Connect via email. Web Link Fires destroy 500 structures, premier heckled over CFA funding - The Sydney Mor… The Sydney Morning Herald