Heatwave live updates: One killed in bushfire disaster in Victoria as hundreds of structures lost

Latest on Vic fires

D

There are 4 emergency bushfire warnings in Victoria, and 18 watch and act alerts.

The largest of the blazes, the Longwood fire, was downgraded to watch and act on Sunday afternoon.

One person has died in the fires. Police say a body was found 100 metres from a car along a fire-ravaged stretch of road at Gobur, which is in the Longwood fire ground.

Over 300 'structures' have been lost — which includes homes businesses and outbuildings.

More than 350,000 hectares of Victoria have been burnt

Insurance peak body declares 'significant event' in Victoria

A

The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has today declared a Significant Event for the severe bushfires have raged across Victoria this week.

ICA's director of mitigation and extreme weather response, Liam Walter said the declaration extends to all of Victoria, "allowing the ICA to monitor claims across the entire state".

"While it's too early to estimate the total damage bill of these fires, insurers stand ready to assist impacted policyholders in their recovery," he said.

"The ICA is in close and ongoing conversation with local response agencies."

The ICA is urging those impacted to contact their insurer as soon as it's safe to do so to commence the claims process, even if the full extent of damage is unknown.

You can find more information here.

Community meetings, power support for people impacted by Streatham fire

A

We heard earlier how thousands of homes had been left without electricity due to the fires, and repairs to powerlines underway in western Victoria.

There's an opportunity for people impacted by the Streatham fire to talk directly to Powercor representatives about energy supply.

Their mobile emergency response vehicle will be at Skipton Mechanics Hall on Monday from 10am. It has capacity to charge up people's mobile phones too.

Community meetings will also be held on Tuesday at the below locations:

Latest emergency alert for Walwa fire

A

An Emergency Warning has been issued for people in Burrowye, Granya, Bungil and surrounds, related to the uncontrolled bushfire 25 kilometres west of Walwa.

People in those communities are being urged to leave immediately.

A fresh warning has also been issued for people to take shelter in Berringama, Bullioh, Koetong, Lucyvale, Shelley, Tallangatta Valley and surrounds.

Catch up on today's coverage

A

Residents in central Victoria have returned to survey the damage to homes and property today, as the state and federal governments unveil a $19.5 million support package.

You can catch up on today's coverage below with ABC journalist Olivia Sanders reporting from the Otway Ranges, where some fires are still burning dangerously despite favourable weather conditions and backburning.

The ABC's Ashlee Aldridge also reports from Wodonga on the NSW border, where some residents are sheltering at the local relief centre for the second night in a row.

Loading YouTube content

Burnt-out farmland in Ruffy

A

Farmland has been left charred in Ruffy, one of the areas impacted by the Longwood fire in central Victoria.

There have been significant livestock losses in the blaze, which has burnt more than 136,000 hectares.

Open mic night becomes open boot night

D

Brian Northern was meant to be hosting an open mic night this evening in Gellibrand, about 20 minutes south of Colac.

But the Barongarook West local had to evacuate, so he brought the tunes to the emergency relief centre at the Colac Showgrounds instead.

"The fireys are working hard, and people are helping us out here, and cooking us food," he said.

"So gotta bring something, figured I may as well bring the jams here."

In photos: Firefighter loses Alexandra home

D

The ABC's Jessica Longbottom was with Michael and Cathie Harper earlier today when they surveyed their destroyed property.

Mr Harper was away saving other properties as a CFA volunteer when the blaze came through his own house.

Here's what their home used to look like:

You can read more about their story here:

Harcourt winemaker describes 'complete devastation'

A

A Harcourt resident and winemaker has described the "complete devastation" of his community and "many areas" nearby.

"The landscape is quite transformed. It's a massive shock to all the locals," Tim Robinson told ABC News Channel earlier.

Tim was on holiday in Tasmania as the Ravenswood fire went through his village, destroying more than 50 structures.

He came home to find his house and vineyard spared, but his business in the township was "completely destroyed".

About two years' worth of his wine stock was lost.

"It's an enormous amount of effort to tend the vines and finish the harvests and then make the wines, so I don't know how you can quantify that. Many hours, many days, and months," he said.

"It's a complete and utter shock to see so much damage happen in such a short time."

Tim said the community had already rallied around one another with fundraisers and lunches.

"I think that demonstrates the spirit of the locals. Everybody will do as much as they can to help those who have lost homes and had their businesses interrupted or lost," he said.

More photos from the buildings claimed in Harcourt

K

The Ravenswood fire that started on Friday has claimed more than 50 structures in the town of Harcourt, Central Victoria.

Guido Salazar has returned to the town to photograph the devastation.

Firefighter who lost his home worked for 26 hours protecting properties

D

CFA volunteer firefighter Michael Harper was just on ABC News Channel chatting to Joe O'Brien about working long hours and hearing over the truck radio that his home had been destroyed.

He ended up working about 26 hours, from 7pm on Thursday to 9pm on Friday.

Mr Harper said he was the driver on a strike team of four, which also included his local mayor.

They were first sent up to the highlands and given "task after task to go and protect homes", he said.

He said the crew had a few hairy moments throughout the shift where the truck almost went through a "burnover", where fire envelops the truck.

"One stage we went over a hill and there was a six-foot fire just coming through a paddock and really high grass, and we all knew we literally had 30 seconds to turn around and get the truck out of there."

When the fire started to come down and try to cross the Maroondah Highway, they came down along with about 10 fire trucks to try to stop it.

"We fought tirelessly for a good four hours and held it at bay, had some air assistance, but unfortunately it jumped the highway and once it jumped the highway, we knew that Alexandra was going to be in the line," Mr Harper said.

His crew and several others were tasked with protecting the town.

"We all reconvened back at the station and had a little bit of a bite to eat and a quick rest and lie down for half an hour, and then we were debriefed on what the task was to try and protect the town. And then there was a strategy put in place to protect the town."

He said the strategy worked really well and his house was the only one lost in Alexandra.

He said an ember had got into a paddock next to the house. He estimated it would have only taken 30 minutes from when the fire reached his house, which was made of timber, for it to be completely destroyed.

Air quality and health warnings for Victoria and NSW

K

A statewide air quality notice is in place in Victoria, due to smoke from the bushfires.

The smoke is however now travelling north, to NSW and the ACT, prompting health and air quality warnings from state authorities.

People in affected areas are encouraged to limit their time outside to reduce their exposure to the smoke.

'It was actually my house': Firefighter was helping others while home burned

D

CFA volunteer firefighter Michael Harper says he was out protecting properties when he learned over the radio in his truck that his house had been destroyed.

Even after seeing what was left of his home and being told his day on the fire truck was over, he later requested to go back out again and protect more properties.

"That's just the kind of guy he is," Murrindindi Shire Council Mayor Damien Gallagher said.

📹: Firefighters battle out-of-control bushfires in Victoria

J

Fire crews deploy helicopters to combat bushfires which burn through large swathes of land in the Otways and Longwood.

Loading...

Latest on the first death in the Victorian fires

D

We reported earlier this afternoon that police had found a body about 100 metres from a car on the eastern edge of the Longwood blaze.

Fires have been raging across Victoria for days but this is the only confirmed fatality.

You can read the latest here:

Photos of the firefighters working at Harcourt

K

The Ravenswood fire ignited on Friday, with the local Country Fire Authority responding quickly.

Guido Salazar has been to capture images of their crew.

Work underway to protect Dargo, where watch and act remains in place

D

Reporting by Danielle Kutchel

Firefighters are today working on creating and consolidating containment lines to protect Dargo, as well as fighting the southern end of the Dargo fire complex around Castleburn.

A watch and act alert remains in place for communities surrounding Dargo and the Bairnsdale-Dargo Road is closed at the Beverleys Road junction.

A smaller spot fire east of Castleburn, which has already burned more than 600 hectares, is a priority for air, ground and rappel crews.

Incident controller Brett Mitchell told the ABC that aircraft were working alongside firefighting teams to tackle the alpine fire in difficult, steep terrain.

"There's around 170 personnel working on the fire, around 10 aircraft and over 40 pieces of heavy plant and equipment," Mr Mitchell said.

Authorities hope that rain expected from the middle of the week will help firefighting efforts.

"The intelligence I'm receiving from the weather bureau is we could potentially receive around 20 millimetres of rain on Wednesday, a little bit more on Thursday and considerable rain on Saturday, so we're really just trying to keep these fires in check away from townships [and] protect our assets and communities," he said.

"We're hopeful that with some benign weather conditions and with the work we're doing with our heavy plant and our firefighters, we can get some good results over the coming days."

Advice-level warnings are in place for fires that are continuing to burn in areas further east, including near Mallacoota.

Relief shelter opened at Wodonga Exhibition Centre

K

A relief shelter has opened at Wodonga Exhibition Centre for those evacuating from the Walwa fire.

This includes the towns of Corryong, Tallangatta and Thologolong.

Richard Lamb from the Wodonga City Council says support from neighboring councils is "critical" to the bushfire response.

Mr Lamb says the centre is expected to be open for the next five to six days and currently has 36 people staying there.

Mr Lamb says local businesses have also stepped in.

"We had some of our local hotels and motels really come forward and really do everything they can to accommodate those people that have got some mobility issues and health issues and put them in some more comfortable accommodation and it's been fantastic."

Reporting with Charmaine Manuel

Gellibrand residents slowly return home

O

Locals in Gellibrand, a small hamlet 20 minutes south of Colac, describe their home as a "magical place".

Residents were forced to evacuate yesterday but have mostly returned this afternoon.

The local shop stayed open, with owner Cherry Smith saying it became a sort of refuge for a dozen or so locals who chose to stay.

"It was quite scary about 3pm yesterday but it's all cleared now," she said.

"There's a group of locals who haven't had power for 48 hours and still don't know when it'll come back."

One of those is Bruce Kenley.

"We had dry lightning come through on Friday afternoon and with the first beat it took our power out," Mr Kenley said.

"In the neighbouring property it hit a cow, it disintegrated."

He said his power has been out ever since.

"Each day they've moved it to 10 o'clock the following day."

Mr Kenley said he understood power authorities might have difficulty accessing lines right now, but it was making it hard to plan.

"We have huge freezers that we keep whole carcasses, we're talking whole lambs, whole beefs," he said.

"Just huge amounts of produce, it's a big amount of food to be throwing out."