Across the south-west, west, north-west and north-east of the state, these works are a key focus in CFA’s post fire recovery for landholders.
CFA volunteers and staff, Forest Fire Management Victoria, VICSES, Coast Guard, Fire Rescue Victoria and contractors continue to be on the ground in fire-affected areas.
These organisations are fixing and replacing infrastructure damaged during firefighting efforts — repairing cut fences, broken gates, and restoring water supplies used in the emergency response.
Restoring soil and stabilising fire control lines on private properties remains a top priority.
This extensive work uses bulldozers and graders to push soil back into place and apply erosion control measures, protecting both land and water quality.
In Seymour, CFA established a dedicated Incident Control Centre specifically for the emergency stabilisation works for the Longwood — Berrys Lane fire.
Daniel Idczak, CFA’s vegetation management team leader and deputy incident controller/stabilisation manager for the Seymour ICC, said the Longwood — Berrys Land fire was the largest fire CFA lead this season.
“The perimeter of the fire is 540km, and we have mapped around 889km of control lines, so it was a very large fire,” he said.
“We’ve assessed all that area aerially and crews are working on all sectors of the fire footprint, with around 60 per cent of the control line now stabilised.
“We have a number of CFA volunteers and staff in teams out there, working alongside partner agencies to make this happen.
“It’s sector-wide, and it’s a big job, so we need all the resources we can get.”
With over 1800 properties affected — most on private land — the CFA is now systematically working through each property to ensure comprehensive recovery.
Mr Idczak said some landowners might not want parts of their property repaired.
“People often ask us to leave the control line in place as they want to maintain it as a permanent asset going forward,” he said.
“We’ve recently received really positive feedback from residents as a result of these stabilisation works, some have made permanent changes to their properties to allow easier access for emergency services in the future if required.
“We’re moving as quick as we feasibly can to get to properties.
“There’s a lot happening out there and a lot of people have been impacted, but we’re doing our best to get there as quickly as we can.
“We’re working closely with those impacted and traumatised community members, so there are many challenging conversations taking place.”
CFA is also partnering with the community to restore a football oval that served as a staging area, clean community halls that became emergency hubs, and replace water supplies used for firefighting aircraft.
Emergency stabilisation works are largely complete in fire-affected areas of Natimuk, Streatham and Larralea.
Mt Mercer fire recovery work will finish by late April, with Harcourt and Longwood areas completed within the next few months.
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