Harcourt community member Faye Hards said her family is feeling very fortunate; both her home in Wilkinson Street and her son’s home in Leafy Lane are still standing following Friday’s fire, but their hearts go out to all those who have lost their homes and livelihoods.
“We stayed and defended our home in Wilkinson Street as long as we could before the emergency services told us to evacuate. We went to the servo for half an hour as the fireball passed. It was just too dangerous. It was so ferocious. Fortunately, we were able to return and put out spot fires throughout the night,” Faye said.
“We had a lot of damage surrounding the home, but our house is still standing.
“Joel’s home is still standing, but he lost shedding, and livestock, his chooks and pheasants, his bobcat, chipper and his fencing was damaged, and so his cows got out. But again, we were lucky,” she said.
“He had a tree explode and spark another fire over the weekend.
“We have no power, no water, no internet. We have a small generator to keep the fridge going. I have phone service, but many don’t. Meanwhile, the fight to contain the fire continues up on the mount. The threat is still there, looming. You can see it glowing. Water bombers continue to fly over.
“Powercor have begun moving power poles to do repairs, and VicTrack is beginning the work to repair the railway line, but it will be good when the clean up teams can get in.
“We had a community lunch at the Miniature Railway yesterday, catered for by the footy club. The fire captain was there, and it was good to hear from them, and they hope to have more services to help us there today (Monday),” Faye said.
