Farmland has been burnt and many houses destroyed in the Yarroweyah fire, affecting many livelihoods.
The grass fire in Yarroweyah on Friday, January 9 has devastated the Moira Shire community, with almost 950 hectares of farmland burnt and many houses lost.
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Moira Shire Council chair administrator Graeme Emonson said that based on CFA mapping, it was estimated that just under 950 hectares of farmland had been burnt.
“It's farmland that's got a variety of uses, everything from cropping to grazing, to orchards.”
Dr Emonson said that while the detailed impact assessment was yet to be completed, it was estimated that between 10 to 12 houses had been destroyed and 30 structures damaged or destroyed.
Matthew Sebastian and Dipu George fixing the fences on their farm along Benalla-Tocumwal Rd that were damaged by the Yarroweyah fire.
“A number of those (structures) will be farm sheds, machinery sheds and hay sheds, so a lot of lost equipment, farming equipment, pumps, irrigation equipment, fences...”
Dr Emonson said fences, feed and fodder supply presented significant issues, with a number of people losing hay supplies and pastures being completely burnt out.
A community information meeting was held on Saturday, January 10 in Katamatite with 120 people in attendance and more than 300 people watching online.
“That was a really significant turnout and was very valuable. It enabled the incident controller, local police and council to give an update on what had happened the day before.”
“We set up the recovery information centre, and that's had a very steady flow of community members coming in, seeking support, assistance and advice,” he said.
Dr Emonson said this fire was markedly different in scale to more regularly occurring bushfires in the region, in terms of the magnitude of impact and extent of houses destroyed.
“We haven't seen that sort of event here in Moira for a period of time,” he said.
“This is a really significant, big impact and we'll have a long recovery tail, particularly around emotional wellbeing and support.
“We're very determined to make sure we've got the right levels of emotional health and wellbeing support mechanisms in place for the long term, because people do react differently to these sorts of major traumas,” Dr Emonson said.
If you’ve been directly affected, are worried for loved ones, or are feeling distressed by the recent fires, Beyond Blue offers free 24/7 mental health and wellbeing support on 1300 22 4636 or via web chat at beyondblue.org.au/get-support.
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