At least 119 structures are believed to have been destroyed in bushfires across Victoria and more than 300,000 hectares of bushland burned as the state continues to battle blazes that may rage for “weeks”.
Emergency management commissioner, Tim Wiebusch, told the media on Saturday that about 50 homes had been lost in the Ravenswood and Harcourt fire, which was believed to be a “conservative number”. The Bendigo railway line had also been damaged by fire and was closed.
At a town hall meeting on Saturday afternoon, community members were told the majority of public buildings in Harcourt had been saved but a number of councillors and staff had lost their homes.
Wiebusch said about 30 structures had been lost in the Longwood fire, in addition to significant livestock, cropping land and vineyard losses, while 20 structures had been lost in the Natimuk grass fire, 10 in Yarrowee and five in the Streatham fire. There had only been around four losses in the Walwa fire however 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) of pine plantations had been burned.
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“Conditions we experienced yesterday with fire are unlike what we’ve seen in 2009 and 2019,” Wiebusch said. “Yesterday we saw more than 200 grass and scrub fires affect every corner of our state … 10 of those fires [are] remaining as major fires.
“Importantly, many of these major fires will continue to burn for days, if not weeks.”
It came as three people who had been missing in the Longwood bushfire since Thursday were found safe. Victoria’s police commissioner, Mike Bush, said the three adults – previously thought to be a man, woman and child – were “safe and well” in Benalla, adding there had been “some confusion” about their identities.
A state of disaster was declared in 18 fire-affected local government areas as well as the Lake Mountain Alpine Resort early on Saturday morning in response to danger to life or property in the affected areas, while a total fire ban was in force across the entire state of Victoria for Saturday.
There were 67 fires burning across the state, including 10 out-of-control bushfires, on Saturday afternoon, Victoria’s state control centre confirmed.
The disaster declaration “sends a clear message to those who have been advised to leave: if you can, you must”, the premier said in a statement.
A state of disaster gives authorities “additional powers to confront an emergency of extraordinary scale and danger”, she said.
Heatwave conditions had eased in Victoria on Saturday morning, with most of the state expecting temperatures in the 20s after parts of the state saw temperatures exceed 45C on Friday.
No districts were rated as “catastrophic” or “extreme” fire danger on Saturday after being downgraded amid the cool change, however concern remained over damaging wind gusts, particularly in the alpine region north-east of Melbourne, and persistent heat in the north-west.
Corryong was one of the towns affected by the fire in the north-west.
Pastors Douglas and Carol Allen stayed behind in the “smoke and haze and wind” of Corryong, without power or a phone network. They run Corryong FoodShare, and said after the fires they would go back to delivering food to those who needed it.
“We’ve got a generator. We’re keeping the fridges and freezers going so we don’t lose the food,” Carol Allen said. “We’re just going to ride it out now.”
The three major fires on Saturday afternoon continued to be the Longwood fire, which was heading east towards Lake Eildon, an out-of-control grassfire at Ravenswood, north of Castlemaine, which had crossed the Calder Highway, and an ongoing bushfire west of Walwa, which was moving in a south-easterly direction from the northern end of the Tallangatta valley.
But concern was growing on Saturday afternoon about two blazes that had set off in the Great Otway region, including a fire on the Great Ocean Road and one at Carlisle River.
Communities at Cape Otway and Maits Rest were being urged to leave immediately on Saturday afternoon via the Great Ocean Road and head towards Apollo Bay, while around a dozen townships near and including Carlisle River had been instructed to take shelter or evacuate.
The Country Fire Authority chief, Jason Heffernan, told ABC News it was a “dynamic situation”.
“There is only one way out for many of those communities – the situation is getting worse there and so we are asking communities to get ready to act,” he said.
Allan said a man in his 60s had been found dead in a car near Harcourt on Friday evening, however his death was “not directly related to the fires”.
“This is a community that is grieving and my thoughts are with his family and the broader community,” she said.
She said well over 300,000 hectares (74,000 acres) of land had been burnt out and 38,000 homes and businesses remained without power.
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, said more than 90 of the state’s firefighters had been deployed to Victoria, while an additional request had been made for more strike teams, aircraft and ancillary support in the past 24 hours.
These aircraft have already been pre-positioned at the border in case the fires burning in Victoria crossed the Murray.
Additional personnel had been brought in from South Australia’s Country Fire Service, with additional resources requested from a national and international level to support firefighters over the next month, Wiebusch said.
There were 53 bush and grass fires burning across NSW on Saturday afternoon, 10 of which had not been contained. One fire at Eurobodalla was at a “watch and act” level.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, praised rural and country fire services, volunteers, police and emergency coordinators for their efforts to prepare for the fire season after a tour of the national situation room in Canberra on Saturday morning.
“Australians across the country are facing extreme and dangerous weather conditions,” he said.
“I want to specifically send my thoughts to those Victorians who have had the devastating news that they’ve lost their homes over the last 24 hours.”
Allan confirmed on Saturday that the state and commonwealth had activated personal hardship payments to all fire affected communities, to be made available for emergency assistance, clothes, food and medication.
The payments would be made available through relief centres and the Vic Emergency hotline.
