Victoria bushfires: Three blazes continue to rage, locals counting the cost

When gusty winds picked up and a bushfire on the horizon suddenly seemed too close for comfort, cattle owner Quentin Barrett quickly became worried about his prized stock.

The wind change prompted an evacuation so fast locals in the town of Dimboola in northwest Victoria near the South Australian border had just 30 minutes to pack up their lives and evacuate over fears the town was under threat.

The blaze sparked by dry lightning on Monday quickly grew to more than 69,000 hectares, with fire crews also battling two other out-of-control blazes in the popular Grampians National Park.

“It all sort of hit in a two hour period, so quite a distance away, obviously you see the plumes,” Mr Barrett told AAP.

“We thought were good, we thought it might miss us, but then the wind just changed and everything just ran.”

“It literally just sort of just licked in and then just tore across our back fence line, our neighbouring fence line.”

A wedding venue and two farm houses were destroyed in the Dimboola fire on Monday, which is not yet controlled but has been downgraded to Watch and Act with locals allowed to go home.

Mr Barrett lost three cattle when flames jumped across a river at the back of his brother’s 300 acre property and tore through fences.

“One fence line could cost upwards of $10,000 to $20,000 for a stretch, and there’s three of those,” he said.

“(That’s) if the insurance covers things, we unfortunately weren’t insured.”

Dimboola resident Bree Myers and seven-year-old daughter Indie Francis, hung a sheet painted with the words “thank you fireys” outside their house the moment they returned.

“We were just really worried, seriously worried, that we’d come back to nothing,” Ms Myers said.

“It’s the least we could do, just so they know that we appreciate it.”

Firefighters continue to battle two other other out-of-control blazes in the Grampians, one at the northern part at Wallaby Rocks area near Zumsteins and the other in the south at Strachans towards Victoria Range.

Residents and holidaymakers at the southern end of the park were urged to leave late on Wednesday, with roads leading to Halls Gap still open.

“Don’t wait, leaving now is the safest option - conditions may change and get worse very quickly,” the VicEmergency website stated.

There are fears they could eventually join, with Forest Fire Management Victoria chief fire officer Chris Hardman telling reporters it could remain a “real challenge” for weeks.

Up to 150 fires fanned by high temperatures and winds have flared across Victoria, posing a challenge to firefighters with reinforcements sent in from other areas and interstate.