A scene of devastation in Ruffy.
Photo by
George Noye
Firefighters tackling the Longwood blaze were faced with a massive task in conditions described as “uncontrollable”.
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The fire had claimed houses, farm sheds, fencing and stock, but the details at the time of going to press were difficult to ascertain.
CFA deputy incident controller Greg Murphy had warned that conditions on Friday, January 9 meant that there was “no chance of controlling (the Longwood) fire”.
“I normally say, when I’m giving briefings, that this is to make you alert but not alarmed — tomorrow is a different day. A really different day,” Mr Murphy said on the Thursday.
“Catastrophic conditions, to us, means that the fire is uncontrollable, it is unpredictable, and it will move. And that’s tomorrow’s conditions.
“(The fire has) travelled a significant distance today, and as we speak, there are communities that are on fire. Ruffy, Tarcombe and others. It’s spreading, and it’s not slowing.”
His predictions proved correct as the blaze continued to spread on Friday.
On Thursday, January 8, the Seymour Sports and Aquatic Centre was filled with locals, firefighters and emergency services personnel, all in an effort to ensure that residents in emergency zones acted before it was too late
Following warnings issued by the CFA some people in Euroa opted to relocate to towns such as Benalla and Shepparton.
The importance of staying up to date with emergency warnings was emphasised throughout the meeting, with community members urged to make decisions while they still had time.
However, some residents reported difficulties in accessing information through the NBN.
Residents were also affected by power outages.
Special crews had to be called in by railway authorities to provide generators to operate six railway crossings in the Euroa district on Friday.
Interstate volunteers began arriving in the region on Friday. One crew came from Hay, NSW, three and a half hours away.
Mr Murphy said more than 400 firefighters and 14 firefighting aircraft were on the scene on Thursday, January 8.
“We laid retardant lines that were burnt through, we dropped lots of water and the fire just looked at it and went, nup,” he said, with a shrug.
17°C