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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Cait Kelly

‘Pack what’s precious’: Victorians bracing for catastrophic fire danger hunker down with caravans, kelpies and litres of water

Victoria June Seymour Jason Heffernan
A kelpie looks up at her owner, who is sitting on a plastic chair with rows of others at a disaster relief centre
Ten-year-old kelpie Ruby and her owner, Jan Sporry, listen to emergency services personnel at the Seymour Sports and Aquatic Centre. Jan, her husband and Ruby have sought refuge at the disaster relief centre after fleeing nearby Ruffy. Photograph: Steve Womersley/The Guardian

When 82-year-old Jan Sporry and her husband had to pack up and leave their home in regional Victoria – possibly for the last time – they struggled to choose what to take with them.

The couple and their kelpie Ruby moved to a disaster relief centre in Seymour on Thursday as firefighters fought blazes in the worst heatwave since the 2019-20 black summer bushfire season. The state braced for a day of catastrophic fire danger on Friday.

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