Victoria bushfires raze towns after rare ‘catastrophic’ alert; state of disaster declared

By dawn, the primary school in Ruffy was a blackened slab and the gums along the main road were standing matchsticks. Twisted water tanks and the shells of utes marked where homes had been. The only reason most of the town’s few hundred residents were not among the ruins, firefighters say, is that they left before the flames arrived, after a phone alert used a word that has rarely appeared in Victoria: catastrophic.

On Friday, Jan. 9, Victoria endured its most dangerous fire conditions since the 2019–20 Black Summer season, as extreme heat, strong winds and dry lightning drove dozens of fast-moving blazes across the state. Authorities declared a statewide total fire ban and warned that “any fire that starts will be uncontrollable.”

By Monday, officials said the fires had burned between 350,000 and 395,000 hectares, destroyed at least 350 structures and killed more than 15,000 head of livestock. One bushfire-related death has been confirmed: a cattle farmer found on his property near Gobur, southeast of Ruffy, in the state’s north-east.

Premier Jacinta Allan said the conditions on Friday were “one of the most dangerous fire days that this state has experienced in years.” Emergency management authorities described the fire danger as the worst since Black Summer.

A state of disaster

On Saturday, Jan. 10, Allan declared a state of disaster under Victoria’s Emergency Management Act 1986 for 18 local government areas and the Lake Mountain Alpine Resort. The declaration, which currently runs until Feb. 8 unless revoked earlier, gives the state greater powers to direct evacuations, restrict movement, control essential services and take possession of property if needed.

The declaration covers large parts of central, north-east and western Victoria, including the Alpine, Greater Bendigo, Mitchell, Murrindindi, Strathbogie and Towong municipalities, as well as farming districts in the Western District and Otways region.

“This declaration reflects not just the fires that are still burning, but the ongoing risk in the weeks ahead,” Allan said when announcing the step.

Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch said 12 major fires were still burning as of Monday, including significant blazes near Longwood, Walwa, Harcourt and in the Otway Ranges.

Longwood fire tears through small communities

The largest and most destructive blaze to date has been the Longwood fire, which began earlier in the week and flared dramatically under Friday’s weather. Burning across Strathbogie, Mitchell and Murrindindi shires, the fire has scorched more than 40,000 hectares and forced the closure of sections of the Hume Freeway, one of the state’s main transport links.

Wiebusch said the Longwood fire alone has destroyed 154 structures, a mix of homes, farm buildings and sheds. Hardest hit is Ruffy, a small community about 140 kilometers north of Melbourne, where at least 20 homes and the local primary school were lost.

A local Country Fire Authority captain described the scene as “like a bomb’s gone off” after ember attacks and spot fires overwhelmed defences on Friday afternoon.

Authorities confirmed that 69-year-old cattle farmer Max Hobson was found dead at Gobur in the path of the Longwood fire. Earlier reports of human remains discovered near Longwood were later identified as Hobson, who is the state’s first confirmed bushfire fatality this season.

Three people initially reported missing from Longwood East were later located safe in Benalla, police said.

Fires at Walwa, Harcourt and in the west

To the north-east, the Walwa–Mount Lawson fire has burned through rugged forest and farmland near the Murray River and New South Wales border. The fire has threatened the township of Walwa and surrounding communities including Burrowye, Granya, Bullioh, Cudgewa and Colac Colac.

Wiebusch said steep terrain and dense forest would make the Walwa–Mount Lawson fire difficult to fully contain and that it could continue burning for weeks, echoing the extended campaign fires of the Black Summer season.

Near Bendigo, a separate blaze around Harcourt and Ravenswood destroyed at least 47 homes and three businesses across the Mount Alexander and Greater Bendigo council areas. Police said a man in his 60s was found dead in a vehicle in the area on Friday, but have indicated his death is not being treated as directly caused by the fire and is not currently included in the official bushfire toll.

In western Victoria, a fire near Natimuk and Grass Flat destroyed about 30 homes, including several belonging to volunteer firefighters, according to local reports. Another blaze in the Streatham district razed at least 59 structures, including 18 homes, wiping out large parts of the small rural community.

Fires in the Otway Ranges and coastal forests forced evacuations and damaged properties near popular holiday areas, though full damage assessments are still under way.

The first “catastrophic” day since Black Summer

The Country Fire Authority and Bureau of Meteorology had warned for days that Friday would be the peak of a multi-day heatwave affecting South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.

Melbourne baked in temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, with inland parts of Victoria reaching the mid-40s. Low humidity and strong, shifting north-westerly winds created ideal conditions for fast-moving grass and forest fires. A strong cold front late Friday brought thunderstorms and widespread dry lightning, which officials say ignited more than 60 new fires across the state.

Under the Australian Fire Danger Rating System, catastrophic is the highest rating. It means that if a fire starts and takes hold, lives are likely to be lost and even well-prepared homes cannot be defended.

“For your survival, leave bushfire risk areas,” the CFA’s guidance on catastrophic days states. “Homes cannot withstand fires in these conditions.”

Ahead of Friday, authorities forecast catastrophic fire danger in at least four Victorian regions—the Wimmera, Northern Country, North Central and North East—and extreme fire danger across much of the rest of the state. A statewide total fire ban was put in place.

Wiebusch urged people in high-risk districts to move early.

“If you are in an area of forecast catastrophic fire danger, leave early to an area with a lower fire risk,” he said.

Parks Victoria closed many national and state parks on Friday, including popular camping and hiking areas, and advised people to leave campsites and “stay home and stay safe.”

Evacuations, power cuts and economic losses

Thousands of residents left their homes in the path of the fires, some following advance warnings and others as flames approached. Relief centers were established in towns including Seymour, Bendigo and Wodonga. At the height of the crisis, about 30,000 homes and businesses lost power, and several major roads were closed due to fire or smoke.

The Victorian Farmers Federation estimated that more than 15,000 animals, largely sheep and cattle, have died in the fires so far, with over 1,000 agricultural properties affected. Farmers reported losing shearing sheds, machinery, hay stores and hundreds of kilometers of fencing.

The state and federal governments announced a joint relief package, including grants for uninsured and underinsured households of up to 52,250 Australian dollars, as well as support for primary producers. A statewide bushfire appeal has also been launched.

Tourism operators are counting the cost of lost bookings during what is normally a peak summer period, with parks and coastal destinations in fire-affected regions closed or operating under restrictions.

Climate and the future of fire risk

Meteorologists said last week’s heatwave was the most significant for south-eastern Australia since the Black Summer season. Australia recorded its fourth-warmest year on record in 2025, part of a long-term warming trend that climate scientists say is driving more frequent and intense fire weather in the region.

Hotter average temperatures, more frequent heatwaves and periods of low rainfall dry out grasslands and forests, increasing the number of days with extreme or catastrophic fire danger. When those conditions coincide with ignition sources—such as lightning strikes or human activity—the risk of large, fast-moving bushfires rises sharply.

For residents of towns like Ruffy, Natimuk and Streatham, those trends are no longer abstract.

As smoke still hung over the hills on Monday, some stood in ash-covered paddocks and tried to imagine rebuilding in places now marked on maps as catastrophic. Others packed their cars again, preparing to leave before the next wind change, aware that in a warming climate, “worst since Black Summer” may not be a once-in-a-generation phrase.