The State Government has committed to sharing the cost of materials for boundary fencing between private and public land that have been damaged or destroyed by bushfire.In a statement issued to the Advertiser on Friday, a Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR) spokesperson said the Victorian Government would meet the full restoration costs of internal and boundary fencing on private...

Despite the ongoing bushfire threat that has engulfed East Gippsland over the past few weeks, the lakeside town of Metung is open for business.A usually busy town during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, Metung has been impacted with a loss of tourism seeing significant financial loss.Ian Lockwood, of Lockwood Real Estate, is opening his new shop this Thursday at 4pm on the village green...

Victorian fire crews are being supported in the fire zone by American and Canadian firefighters.A group of 39 US and Canadian firefighters are already in East Gippsland and an additional crew of 48 Americans, including 20 highly experienced veteran personnel, arrived in Victoria last Thursday before hitting the fire zone on Saturday.The men are specialists in rugged bushfire terrain and are...

The grassroots community response to helping victims of the devastating bushfires has been nothing short of phenomenal.Local donations along with those from across the state, offers of assistance and convoy after convoy of trucks carrying hay to starving livestock have been endless.While the fire threat is far from over with today’s conditions causing concern about a spike in fire activity, the...

There are reports of looters seeking to prey on those who have lost homes in the bushfires in East Gippsland.The Advertiser was told that looters were in the Sarsfield area the morning following the fires.It’s understood those looters aren’t visitors to the area, but unsavory characters who reside within the community.“Unfortunately, we have some despicable people living in the local area,” a...