Victoria bushfire crisis: Three people missing found safe, 130 structures lost as state of disaster declared

People living in Harcourt have been warned that the tap water isn’t safe to drink as bushfires ravage the town.

Water services have been unable to access a burst water main which may have caused contaminants to enter the water supply network, VicEmergency said.

“Tap water is not safe to drink in Harcourt. Boiling the tap water will not make it safe,” it said.

Residents should only drink bottled water. The tap water is also unsuitable for food preparation, cleaning food, dishes or clothing or preparing baby food.

It is also unsafe for making ice or brushing your teeth.

VicEmergency recommended using hand santiser after going to the bathroom or before eating food and using disposable baby wipe products that are not soap based without water to clean yourself.

All residents are asked to not drink tap water until further notice, VicEmergency said.

Bushfires have burned tens of thousands of hectares in central Victoria, destroying multiple homes and other structures around the towns of Longwood and Ruffy and forcing widespread evacuations under catastrophic fire conditions.

Photos coming in now show stranded animals, burnt property and a grim atmosphere.

Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch says 130 structures have been destroyed across Victoria as multiple bushfires continue to burn.

He said the Ravenswood and Harcourt fire had caused the most significant damage, with 50 structures lost so far and that number expected to rise. The Bendigo railway line has also sustained damage, with buses now replacing trains.

At the Longwood fire, around 30 structures have been lost, while livestock, crops and vineyards have been severely impacted.

The Yarrowee fire on the Murray Valley Highway has destroyed 10 structures, and the Grass Flat/Natimbuk fire has claimed 20.

In the Walwa fire region, 10,000 hectares of pine plantations have burned, although property losses remain minimal.

“But that is a conservative number, and we are expecting there could be more,” he said.

Significant livestock cropping land and vineyards have been impacted or destroyed by the Longwood fire. A fire in Yarroweyah near Cobram has caused “significant livestock and also agricultural impacts,” Mr Wiebusch said.

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Residents and visitors in Cape Otway and Maits Rest have been urged to leave immediately as an out-of-control bushfire burns near the Great Ocean Road.

The blaze, which began near the Great Ocean Road in Cape Otway, is moving in a south-easterly direction from Sandy Ridge Track, according to VicEmergency.

Authorities have warned that the Great Ocean Road could be affected within the next hour.

A section of the route between Lavers Hill and Apollo Bay, as well as the Maits Rest Visitor Area, will be closed due to the fire.

“Leaving immediately is the safest option, before conditions become too dangerous,” VicEmergency said.

Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch says the causes of Victoria’s major blazes remain unclear, with lightning suspected to be behind many of them.

He said investigators will examine each fire site in the days and weeks ahead.

“We’ve got a number of large fires in our landscape. Each one of them will be investigated at various points in time, and we will come back to you at some point as we learn and understand how those fires might have started,” Mr Wiebusch said.

He added that while several fires appear to have been sparked by lightning, it was too early to say whether any had been deliberately lit.

Families affected by Victoria’s devastating bushfires will be eligible for a one-off federal payment of $2,380, Minister for Emergency Management Kristy McBain has announced.

The personal hardship assistance payments will be made available to people in fire-affected communities through the VicEmergency hotline and at relief centres across the state.

Premier Jacinta Allan said the payments are intended to help those who have lost access to essentials.

“These will be made available to people through the VicEmergency hotline, through relief centres, and they are payments for immediate clothes, for food, for medication,” Ms Allan said.

“This will not be the end of the assistance for those fire affected communities as those impact assessments are undertaken.”

Authorities have stressed that further support will be provided once the full extent of damage from the fires is assessed.

“The Chief Commissioner Mike Bush will go into further detail in terms of the people reported yesterday as being unaccounted for at yesterday morning’s press conference,” Ms Allan said.

“I can confirm this morning that those three people in the north-east of the state have been identified. They have been accounted for and are safe.”

“We are grateful for everyone for supporting those people, to keep them safe.

“Sadly, though, we saw yesterday evening, around the Harcourt community, a man in his 60s was found deceased in a vehicle near Harcourt.

“While his death is not directly related to the fires, the fact this death occurred in such close proximity to the fire ground means this is a community that is grieving and my thoughts are with his family and the broader community.”

Victoria Police said emergency services discovered the man, thought to be in his 60s, inside his vehicle on his property at around 4.45pm on Friday. Detectives are investigating the circumstances and will prepare a report for the coroner.

“At this early stage, the circumstances surrounding the man’s death are unknown however the death is not believed to be directly related to the nearby fire,” they said.

“Local detectives, who weren’t able to attend the scene immediately due to the nearby fires, attended the scene Friday evening once the immediate area was deemed safe.

“The property the vehicle was found in was not impacted by fire.”