The bushfire threat in Victoria's west is easing today, as assessment teams prepare to determine how many properties have been lost in the towns of Bellfield and nearby Pomonal.
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00:00 I'm in Stoll. This is a town a few kilometres east of Halls Gap and Pomona. Pomona in particular
00:08 was the town that was hit most strongly by the fires overnight and on an ongoing basis
00:13 this morning. There's an estimated 50 people who've been evacuated from Pomona here at
00:19 this relief centre and several more, perhaps many more, at another relief centre south
00:24 of here in Ararat. They've been given beds, they're enjoying a fish and chip lunch now
00:29 courtesy of the Salvation Army. So things are looking somewhat positive for the people
00:33 here but the fact remains a lot of properties have been lost including homes. Further north
00:38 there's another fire that is still somewhat alive but perhaps less dangerously so near
00:44 the community of Dadswell Bridge. In fact I spoke to a landholder a few kilometres north
00:49 of Dadswell Bridge this morning. Let's have a listen to what he has to say. Fortunately
00:54 this time we didn't get attacked but neighbours that missed it all in 14 got it this time.
01:02 So I don't know whether that's Murphy's Law or luck but it has severely affected us 10
01:09 years ago. We were burnt pretty much out except infrastructure and the fire brigade and the
01:14 SES were amazing. Nothing but praise for all those sort of fellas and ladies. There's a
01:18 lot of ladies amongst them too. So which warnings remain in place Angus? So both of these fires
01:29 were subject to stay hunker down alerts this morning. Those have been downgraded to watch
01:35 and act alerts which means people should certainly remain vigilant. There are flames and trees
01:41 that are at danger of falling down over large parts of the eastern and northern Grampians.
01:46 Let's have a listen to what authorities have to say as to the specific alerts and specific
01:50 advice people should be following right now. Hot, windy and dry conditions together with
01:58 dry lightning strikes right across the state caused a lot of work, resulted in a lot of
02:05 work for our agencies with many fires started from those lightning strikes. Almost all fires
02:10 were started from the lightning strikes that we're aware of. Our focus continues to be
02:13 on protecting life and property. Those fire areas still are risks of trees falling and
02:19 branches falling so there are impact assessments underway to understand the extent of the damage
02:25 that's occurred and also ensure that it's safe for people to return to their homes.
02:34 So as we can see here in store at the relief centre, 50 people being looked after. They
02:39 are certainly bruised, a little battered but not defeated.
02:43 [BLANK_AUDIO]