THE TRUE COST

Laharum’s Deirdre Braum saw firsthand the devastation and high financial and personal cost of bushfires when her property, Laharum Grove, was ravaged in 2014. 

Fire destroyed 90 per cent of the grove’s 11,000 olive trees, but her restaurant and house survived. 

“Fire was burning up the walls,” she said.

“We’re very lucky to have had the support of the Country Fire Authority and our neighbours. We were away at the time, but we’re very lucky. That support is the reason the house and the restaurant didn’t burn.”

Three years on, Mrs Braum and her husband are still coming to terms with the financial and physical loss. 

“We’re still working with the aftermath of the fires,” she said.

“We’re seeding olives this year, but in terms of clean up there’s still a long way to go.

“We lost three years of olive production as well as trying to sort out the farm. There’s a huge cost in cleaning up trees.”

CONTINUED LOSS

Mrs Braum said there was also a hidden psychological toll. “There’s a big emotional cost. You often don’t realise it when it’s happening,” she said.

“It’s very emotionally draining, but when something like that happens it’s amazing how much the community comes together.”

The Climate Council report shows bushfire seasons will increase in severity and frequency over lengthier fire seasons. 

It said stories like Mrs Braum’s would become more common with insured losses and broader social costs to double and reach $378 million in 2050. 

Climate Council spokesman Professor Tim Flannery said the changes would strain Victoria’s existing firefighting and management resources.

FIREFIGHTER FATIGUE

Country Fire Authority district 17 operations manager Dale Russell said as Victoria’s climate changed, the organisation must be aware of possible firefighter fatigue. 

“With climate change we expect high temperatures, long summer and high fuel loads as grass dries out earlier,” he said.

“It means fuel loads, forests and grass will be more flammable for longer.

“Longer fire seasons affect two groups. Firstly, there’s the volunteers who are still trying to do what they do for a living. If they’re continuously dragged away from their day to day work it affects them and their employer.”

“There’s also the DELWP summer crews and project firefighters who risk a fatigue factor.

“As there are more fires and the fire period becomes longer, both groups are affected and risk being fatigued.”

MORE FIRES 

Mr Russell said even now crews were fighting more fires than ever before.

“If you look at history, we used to get bad fires every 20 or 30 years,” he said.

“Now there’s much more.

“Overseas they’re started calling then megafires. Because of the continual drying process and longer and hotter summers there’s more fuel than ever before.”

Mr Russell said the authority could not change the weather, but could ensure it was extremely prepared for fire seasons, with fuel reduced where possible. 

“The Wimmera has 4000 volunteer members out there prepared to protect the community every day, ready to respond accordingly when required,” he said.

Professor Flannery said Victoria sustained about half the country’s economic losses from bushfire, and more than two-thirds of know civilian bushfire fatalities had occurred in Victoria.