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Victoria Bushfire Losses Top 700 as Longwood Remains Largest Blaze

Officials say hundreds of homes are gone and containment work is intensifying as crews prepare for another potential spike in fire danger later this month.

Overview

  • Authorities report 11 major fires still burning, with Longwood the largest at roughly 137,000–144,000 hectares and Walwa exceeding 102,000 hectares.
  • More than 700 structures are destroyed or significantly damaged, including 228 homes, with 143 homes lost at Longwood, 54 at Ravenswood–Harcourt, and nine at Walwa.
  • The fire footprint has grown to about 404,000 hectares statewide, according to the State Control Centre.
  • The Victorian government announced new supports including grants of up to $75,000 for primary producers, $16 million for extended power-outage relief, funding for recovery hubs and councils, and earlier commitments for uninsured clean-up and emergency payments.
  • Health and safety alerts remain in effect with extremely poor air quality in the North East and a do-not-drink advisory for Harcourt, while one death has been confirmed and investigators are probing a suspected trailer-spark ignition near Alexandra with arson not ruled out.