Updated January 11, 2026 — 8:45pm,first published January 11, 2026 — 9:02am
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Victoria’s bushfire crisis has taken a deadly turn with one person confirmed to have died in the Longwood blaze as authorities warn it could take weeks to control the fires that have destroyed hundreds of buildings, including dozens of homes.
Victoria Police confirmed on Sunday afternoon that they had found human remains 100 metres from a vehicle in Yarck Road, Gobur, a remote area east of Seymour which faced the full force of Friday’s catastrophic conditions that sparked major fires across the state.
Forensic police inspect a body discovered on a forested stretch of Yarck Road, Gobur. The Age
The State Control Centre said at 5.30 pm on Sunday that there were more than 30 fires still burning, eight of them major, and two of them at an emergency level, one at Walwa in the state’s north-east and the other in the Otway Ranges.
The Longwood fire was downgraded to watch and act level late on Sunday afternoon. Residents of Yarck, Ruffy, Longwood and surrounds were urged to minimise travel in the fire-affected area.
The body was found on a forested stretch of Yarck Road known by locals as “the cutting” due to its switchback nature. Forensic officers dressed in white overalls and wearing face masks could be seen inspecting the edge of the tarmac near a bend in the road.
A fallen burnt tree blocked the narrow road, which snakes through farmland into the Gobur Bush Reserve.
Premier Jacinta Allan expressed her sorrow and support for the person’s loved ones, saying all of Victoria’s thoughts were with them.
“This loss will be felt far beyond Gobur, and it marks the first known fire-related fatality during what has already been an incredibly challenging period for our state,” she said.
“There is still a very long road ahead, and for many it will be marked by grief. But we will stand alongside those families and communities for however long it takes.”
Emergency services warned that fires could burn for weeks, despite cooler and less blustery conditions that brought some relief to Victoria’s firefighters.
Extreme heatwave conditions eased on Sunday over western and central Victoria. Melbourne reached a top of 18 degrees while Mildura, after three days in a row over 44 degrees, reached a top of 27.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Sherwin Simpson said that while temperatures were dropping around Victoria, he expected heat to linger around parts of the north-east.
A total fire ban has been extended until the early hours of Monday.
The heaviest building losses from the fires have been in the Longwood, where more than 150 structures were destroyed.
In Natimuk, in the state’s west, 30 homes and 40 sheds have been lost. Forty-seven homes and three businesses have been lost in Harcourt, south of Bendigo.
Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, the South West and Wimmera continue to experience poor air quality, while it is very poor in the Mallee, Northern Country, North East, and West and South Gippsland.
More than 5000 properties remain without power across the fire-affected areas of the state, and rebuilding the power network is likely to take weeks.
Tap water in Barkers Creek, Harcourt and part of Castlemaine remains unsafe to drink. Residents are urged to stick to bottled water.
Support for victims
Standing alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Allan announced an additional $19.5 million in funding for fire-affected communities, on top of the personal hardship grants announced on Friday.
About half of the extra funding will help distribute hay to farmers in need, while the rest will go to initiatives like emergency accommodation and mental health support.
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Albanese thanked anyone who had responded to the fires, including volunteers who had travelled from NSW.
“My message to Victorians is pretty simple: we’ve got your back,” he said. “Not just during this crisis, but through the recovery as well.”
Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch said “spectators” had been entering fire-affected areas.
“Disappointingly, in the last 24 hours, we’ve started to see some tourism or spectators heading into some of our fire-impacted zones. We only expect to see locals, if it is safe to be in there at all, so please do not enter those fire-impacted zones.”
Allan lashed the fire tourists, pointing out the police had powers under the state’s emergency legislation to require people to leave.
“Stay away. It is not safe, and it is wrong,” she said.
Earlier on Sunday, Allan told Seven News that she felt sick hearing that police were concerned about the potential for looting in north-central Victoria.
“I was at the Seymour relief centre yesterday and I met with families who had lost their homes,” she said.
A firefighter helps a koala cool down near the Longwood fireground.Benalla Fire Brigade
“I met with a woman who showed me a photo of her home that had been burnt to the ground. These are communities that have experienced the worst of an emergency.”
The premier warned that some fires, such as those in north-east Victoria, were expected to burn for weeks. She insisted emergency services were well-prepared for this fire season.
Allan herself has been partially affected by the fires. The premier lives near Bendigo and has not returned home since an evacuation warning was issued on Friday.
The damaging fire which swept through Harcourt, south of Bendigo, on Friday is now largely contained.
The Longwood fire has covered about 136,000 hectares.
“There has been some incredible work done by firefighters on that blaze,” Forest Fire Management chief fire officer Chris Hardman said.
The road at the edge of Longwood on Sunday.Grant McArthur
“There is some fire activity towards Lake Eildon, the rest of the fire is looking pretty good.”
The out-of-control bushfire 25 kilometres west of Walwa is slowly moving north-east.
A fire-damaged road sign near Longwood on Saturday.Getty Images
It is not safe to return to Corryong, Towong or Walwa, while people in the Mitta Valley are being urged to leave now, and people in Tallangatta Valley are being urged to take shelter.
A relief centre has been set up in Wodonga and people to the north of the fire front were urged to leave via NSW.
Authorities said the two out-of-control fires in the Cape Otway area, south of Colac, were now considered part of the same fire. The emergency-level fire in this complex was travelling north-east on Sunday night.
Brian Nunn walks through the remnants of the Harcourt Co-op.Jason South
Across the rest of the state, the danger from fires is beginning to ease.
In the north-west, residents of Mallee towns like Patchewollock and Underbool have been told it is safe to return, after two fires in Wyperfeld National Park that have burnt through 74,000 hectares slowed.
In the Wimmera, the 8300-hectare Natimuk fire was contained as of Sunday night, with agencies planning the safe return of residents to the fire-affected area.
Further south, it is still not safe for people to return to Carranballac, Stoneleigh and the rural area of Skipton, despite crews containing a grassfire there.
At the other end of the state, a bushfire on the Princes Highway at Genoa, near Mallacoota, is no longer a threat. Bushfires at Mallacoota, Lake Barracoota and Cape Howe are not yet under control.
Residents in the area were told to either take shelter or leave immediately early on Sunday.
Those affected by the Otways blaze have been told to head to Colac, where a relief centre has been set up. There is a separate relief centre for larger animals.
‘Devastated’: Animals also lost
Three months ago, Lindsay Park Racing was the toast of Australian horse racing, after its progeny Ka Ying Rising won the $20 million Everest in Sydney.
Now it is in mourning – seven horses were killed when the Longwood fire hit its property at Euroa.
“Five were spelling [resting and recuperating] racehorses, two were retirees. One horse remains in a critical condition,” Lindsay Park said in a statement.
The company said a further 320 horses had been brought through the fire safely.
“The team who work tirelessly to care for these horses are devastated by the events, and we will be ensuring they are supported.”
One caller to ABC Radio, a resident of Wangaratta, said he and a small army of volunteers had been euthanising severely injured livestock.
They said they had seen thousands of dead sheep and hundreds of dead cattle, as well as plenty of dead kangaroos and a few deer.
Hunting and fishing businesses have donated ammunition to farmers needing to put down their livestock, while agribusinesses and Euroa MP Annabelle Cleeland have helped co-ordinate urgent animal feed to prevent surviving stock from starving.
Smoke from the Otways fire over Aireys Inlet on Saturday.Aireys Inlet CFA
No trains will run on the Bendigo, Swan Hill and Echuca lines on Monday, as crews continue to assess the damage done by the Harcourt fire.
About 200 interstate personnel are assisting Victorian firefighters on the ground. More than 70 aircraft have been deployed, and the Australian Defence Force continues to provide support via logistics, accommodation and catering for emergency personnel.
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Broede Carmody is a health reporter for The Age. Previously, he was a state political reporter for The Age and the national news blogger for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via Twitter or email.
Rachel Eddie is a Victorian state political reporter for The Age. Contact her at rachel.eddie@theage.com.au, rachel.eddie@protonmail.com, or via Signal at @RachelEddie.99Connect via Twitter or email.From our partners