Fire authorities say a final figure of 116 homes have been destroyed by a bushfire that could burn all summer

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The number of homes destroyed in the Wye River fire on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road on Christmas Day has risen to 116.

Country Fire Authority deputy incident controller Mark Gunning said 116 houses in Wye River and Separation Creek had been destroyed in the 2200-hectare blaze.

“That will probably be the final number, as we’ve just completed an extensive search,” Gunning said on Saturday evening.

The fire swept through bushland and began to advance toward the town of Lorne on Friday night.



And the emergency management commissioner, Craig Lapsley, said the blaze could continue burning until January or February. Even a dousing of rain on Saturday was unlikely to do much in the long term once the state began to dry out. “This fire doesn’t go away,” Lapsley said.

Great Ocean Road bushfire: homes destroyed as five towns evacuated Read more

More than 300 firefighters spent the night fighting the fire after the town of Lorne was evacuated on Friday evening. Residents were told they could go home after an evacuation recommendation was lifted shortly after 9am on Saturday.

The nearby townships of Wye River, Separation Creek, Kennett River and Grey River were evacuated earlier on Friday afternoon. Emergency warnings remain in place for Wye River and Separation Creek, and both areas remained closed on Saturday afternoon.

“Power is out, though fallen domestic solar power lines remain a threat,” a Country Fire Authority notice said.



“There are a number of hazardous tress that have been burnt and are dangerous, and damage to septic systems can result in leaking sewerage and health hazards.”



Crews were also assessing the full extent of property damage in area.



Watch and act alerts were in place for Lorne, Allenvale, Kennett River and Grey River on Saturday.





Lapsley said on Saturday morning: “Obviously we are very pleased to see the emergency warning lifted for Lorne, and that means VicRoads and VicPol can now go about restoring roads so people can access all the way down the coast to Lorne.



“However, the roads from Lorne south will be closed for days until VicRoads and others, local government, do their assessments of the roads to ensure they are safe and until they are safe people won’t be able to access that area.

“Those people in Wye River and Separation Creek that have lost properties, we’ll do our best in the next 24 hours to get those people back in to have a look at the damage, the impact and destruction that this fire has caused.”

Lapsley said strong local winds on Friday had blown embers over control lines – something that had only been expected to happen on a much hotter, windier day – but the response was well planned.

“That plan played out. It was actioned just before lunchtime on Christmas Day where the community were told to evacuate. And they did that in a very orderly way.

“We always say that primacy of life is the critical issue in the state particularly after the royal commission [into the] fires of 2009. That’s the direct result of why we haven’t lost life for what is a very intense fire yesterday … [people] walked away from the fire that had every potential to be a killer.”

Daniel Andrews, the state premier, said Victorians were “opening up their homes” and assisting people who had “not had a very good Christmas at all – people who are out of their homes, out of their areas and doing it tough at the moment. The very best comes out at the very worst of times.



“This is really a very challenging fire – but in the planning and the execution and indeed in terms of the outcomes, no person has been harmed. That’s something that we can be very proud of.

“It will be a very difficult few days, though, indeed many weeks, for those who have lost their homes, or at least have lost a premises. I can confirm that 35 houses are gone in Wye River, 18 are gone in Separation Creek. And the fire stopped just some 500 metres short of Kennett River. There would have been several more losses if it had kept going.”

Weather over the next few days has been predicted to be favourable for firefighting, with rain and lower temperatures.

The main firefront had not gone through Kennett River, but firefighters defending homes there had put out spot fires and no properties had been reported burnt.



Holidaymakers were being advised on Saturday to stay away, and those away from their homes were told not to return yet.

The Great Ocean Road remained closed from Bellbrae to Skenes Creek on Saturday morning but was reopened between Torquay and Lorne.



Community meetings were due to be held at lunchtime on Saturday at relief centres in Apollo Bay and Torquay.

Organisers of the Falls music festival, due to be held near Lorne from Monday, were due to meet fire authorities at noon on Saturday to discuss whether it could go ahead.



“The township of Lorne is now being evacuated, the Falls farm itself is safe from the path of the fires,” a statement on festival’s website said.



“We are working with the CFA, fire authorities and emergency services to stay across the current situation.”



The festival is scheduled to begin on Monday and run until New Year’s Day.

The Bureau of Meteorology predicted a top of 18C at Lorne on Boxing Day and up to 20mm of rain.

