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Victoria bushfires: Body found near car as Jacinta Allan warns ‘worst’ fire not over yet
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Victoria bushfires: Body found near car as Jacinta Allan warns ‘worst’ fire not over yet

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A body has been found in a bushfire zone in Victoria, where thousands of firefighters have been battling multiple blazes across the state.
Victoria Police confirmed on Sunday afternoon that the remains were located in the Longwood bushfire area, about 100 meters from a vehicle along Yarck Road near Gobur.
The person has yet to be formally identified.
There are 32 fires in the state on Sunday, with 10 fires at emergency level in the north-east of particular concern. Authorities said thousands of firefighters worked all day to bring them under control.

At least 300 buildings and more than 300,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land have been burned.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan warned residents the recovery process would take “a long time”.
“We will see fires continue across the state for some time to come,” she told reporters in Bendigo on Sunday.
“That’s why we’re far from through the worst of it.”
The federal government will make $19 million in disaster relief payments available to residents of Barkers Creek, Harcourt, Harcourt North, Longwood, Longwood East, Natimuk, Ravenswood South, Ruffy and Sutton Grange on Wednesday.
It will provide those who have suffered major damage to their home, serious injury or loss of a loved one as a result of the bushfires, a one-off payment of $1,000 per eligible adult and $400 per child.

“My message to Victorians is quite simple: we stand with you, not just through this crisis but through the recovery,” Premier Anthony Albanese said.

‘This family is very lucky’

A family and their beloved cat have been rescued by a police helicopter when their regional Victorian home was engulfed in devastating fires that devastated the state.
The trio, two women and a 92-year-old man, bunkered down on their remote Caveat property and sought safety in a shipping container on their land as the fire swept through the area.
The family, who lost their home, slept in their car Friday evening.
With no road access, police used a helicopter to transport the group and their cat Grisha to Seymour on Saturday morning.

One of the women, an 82-year-old, had her hair singed by the flames and was treated for burns to her hands.

The family slept in their car Friday evening. Source: Delivered / Victoria Police

Victoria Police Air Wing Tactical Flight Officer Brittany Smith described the aerial destruction as heartbreaking.

“We are by no means encouraging people to take shelter in shipping containers, but on this occasion I can only say that this family has been extremely lucky,” she said.
“It was good that we were able to get in and get them out. We were happy that we could provide help when they needed us.”

A state of emergency has been declared for twenty local government areas.

‘We thought our house was gone’

Several emergency level fires were spread across the state, but firefighting efforts were concentrated on a huge blaze in central Victoria and another in the north-east, near the NSW border.
A fire that swept through Harcourt, northeast of Castlemaine in the Central Highlands, claimed at least 50 buildings, including homes and businesses.
Bonnie and Remy Sowman were speechless as they looked at the blackened ruins of their cafe, which held a special place in the Harcourt community.

The couple decided to pack their bags and leave both their home and business on Friday when circumstances began to change.

She described the day as a blur.
“We had a friend who posted some footage and it was bad near where we live. For most of the night we thought our house was gone,” she told the Australian Associated Press.
They received the news on Friday evening that their home was safe, but for their business the situation was very different.

“We’re just grateful that we got out, everyone is safe,” she said.

Smoke rises from burning forest on a hill

Firefighters are fighting the flames on several fronts. Source: MONKEY / Michael Currie

“We live in a beautiful community where everyone does their part and helps, and we have been completely inundated with wonderful offers from people.”

The danger has not yet passed, despite the Bureau of Meteorology predicting milder weather on Sunday, with winds decreasing but changing direction.
Authorities said Sunday that the Harcourt fire was 80 percent contained.
CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan said conditions have eased but there is still a long way to go before the fires are brought under control.
– With additional reporting from the Australian Associated Press.

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