Mary and Louis Kirby with their son Josh before they lost everything in the Yarroweyah fire.
CFA volunteer Josh Kirby said it had been a long time since he had seen his father cry.
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Louis Kirby is stoic and hardworking, but on Friday last week everything changed when the 84-year-old lost almost everything he owned in the Yarroweyah fire.
“Dad is a farmer and he didn’t want to leave; he was preparing to fight that thing with a garden hose,” Josh said.
“In the end there were 27 brigades and aircraft on it and even they couldn’t pull it up.
“I’m just so glad Mum and Dad got out.”
The remains of Mary and Louis Kirby’s home after fire tore through their property on January 9.
Friday morning started like any other day, then somewhere nearby, a truck tyre burst sending metal sparks into a paddock.
Louis and Mary Kirby were at home on their small farm when police knocked on the door telling them they needed to get out.
With 45-degree temperatures, high winds and plenty of dry fuel, the fire proved impossible to stop as it tore through a narrow path along Tocumwal Benalla Rd, through Yarroweyah, Muckatah and Katamatite areas, ultimately destroying 12 homes and 26 farm sheds.
By that afternoon, everything they owned, except their car, the clothes on their backs and three cows, had been destroyed.
The Kirbys’ remaining three cows somehow survived the fire.
Josh belongs to the Peechelba CFA, but on that day he was another world away in Melbourne.
“I’d seen the warning that there was a fire at Yarroweyah and just felt hopeless that I couldn’t get over there to help,” he said.
“Now the house, all their possessions, the sheds, tractors, tools, all the fences, pasture, it’s completely vaporised.
“Later in the afternoon friends got near the property and could see that things weren’t good … the next-door neighbours said it was an inferno; even the aluminium wheels on cars were melted.
Now, with media attention focused elsewhere, Josh says the Yarroweyah fire is the “forgotten fire”.
On Wednesday, the Federal Government released its list of communities eligible for Disaster Recovery Payments, with families who lost everything in the Yarroweyah fire left off that list.
“There’s been a lot of attention on Walwa and Longwood, for good reason, but this was a small, but fast and high-impact fire,” Josh said.
“For a small fire to take 12 houses out is pretty significant; it’s had a substantial impact on the community.”
Mary Kirby returned to her property to find total destruction.
This week, Louis and Mary are still in shock and disbelief at how fast their lives changed and grateful for their eight children and the many people who have helped them.
“I’d seen the fires on TV, but when it happens to you it’s different,” Mary said.
“It was just overwhelming, it was terrible, so hot and windy.
“We just got in the car with our two dogs and left.”
From her daughter’s home in Katunga, Mary has been watching story after story about the Victorian bushfires, with barely a mention of the Yarroweyah fire that destroyed her home, along with 11 others, including four of her neighbours.
She and Louis are grateful they had recently destocked and that their remaining three Blonde d’Aquitaine cows somehow survived, but they have no idea what comes next, where they will live or how they can possibly start over.
“Rebuilding at their age is a hard ask,” Josh said.
“That’s the conversation we’re having as a family; it’s not an easy conversation to have.”
Local gym Cobram Future Fitness 24/7 has set up a GoFundMe for Louis and Mary, which has already raised more than $25,000.
“People have been so generous, even people from overseas,” Josh said.
“The Salvos are doing a magnificent job, and Blaze Aid is coming to help with fencing ... the CFA, the police and the support agencies, we’re very grateful to them all.
“But the people in this area have been significantly impacted and will need the love and support of their community for some time to come.”
A spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency said in activating the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment, the Minister for Emergency Management considered the severity and widespread nature of impacts, the number of individuals affected, and areas that were disaster declared by the state.
The AGDRP was not activated for Moira Shire, though income support payments, personal hardship and other support payments under the joint Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements are available.
These include emergency fodder assistance, up to $75,000 recovery grants for primary producers, and funding for councils for clean-up.
• More information on available recovery assistance under the DRFA can be found on the Victorian Government January 2026 Victorian bushfires website, vic.gov.au, and Commonwealth disaster payments can be found on Services Australia’s website, servicesaustralia.gov.au
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