We want to extend our deep solidarity with those affected by the devastating fires that occurred across Victoria last week. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by these fires. We're collating resources from the ground and ideas on grassroots initiatives for people to support. Please add any missing in the comments so we can amplify local needs.
12 large fires burnt across the state on Friday 9 January. Central Vic, North Vic, South West Vic, South Vic, and South East Vic have all been affected. A State of Disaster has been declared in the impacted areas, with more than 400,000 hectares burnt (a total area more than five times the size of Singapore). As of 14 January (Source), 700 structures (including 228 homes) have been lost, one person has lost their life, more than 15 000 head of livestock lost (expected to climb), there has been a significant impact on local business infrastructure, and the wildlife impact is yet to be determined.
Natimuk, about 25km west of the regional city of Horsham, lost at least 30 homes. The Longwood fire affected Euroa, Yarck and surrounds, with at least 154 structures being destroyed. Streatham has lost 59 structures, including 18 homes, while Ravenswood and Harcourt have lost 47 homes and three businesses. Yarroweyah lost 10 structures, and Walwa lost four structures and the area sustained large agricultural and planation impacts. In Mount Mercer, one house and 12 sheds were destroyed, while Kennedys Creek in the Otways and Dargo each lost one one property (as of Mon 12 Jan - Source).
On 27 January, the Otways fire jumped containment lines and destroyed at least 16 structures at Gellibrand, with a strong wind change in the late afternoon impacting another 1,000 hectares. A separate fire also destroyed two structures and killing livestock on 10 properties at Larralea, near Lismore.
The impact of bushfire smoke from these fires should not be underestimated. Smoke from the Black Summer bushfires killed nearly 450 people and affected 80% of the population. It harms human health even when the fire is burning hundreds of miles away. It can exacerbate health conditions like asthma and reduce lung function in ways that can worsen existing respiratory problems and even heart disease. If you’re in a susceptible group, decrease your exposure to smoke in the air.
And the mental health impacts should also not be underestimated. This includes that of those directly impacted by the bushfires through having to evacuate, loss of property, or their travel being impacted, as well as people not directly impacted by a bushfire event. People living thousands of kilometres away also experience solastalgia and poor mental health following bushfires. We have also included resources for mental health wellbeing below.
There may still be future fires this season, with more hot weather forecast for late January, bringing with it an increased fire risk. We encourage everyone in fire‑prone areas to ensure their bushfire survival plan is up to date and to have conversations in their community about how the community as a whole can prepare.
Solidarity through mutual aid ensures that we support communities directly during climate disasters. Below is a collection some grassroots initiatives you can support, as well as support available for those affected.
If you're donating, please consider the functionality of items and the context they're being received in, to ensure you're adding value rather than hindering the recovery. Make direct donations via the links below. Please send additions for this list to [email protected].
Image credits: Walwa Hotel (L) and Silvan Fire Brigade (R)
For those affected there is a relief payment on offer: https://www.dffh.vic.gov.au/news/emergency-relief-payments-are-now-available.
Statewide Recovery Volunteer, Mutual Aid and Donation Opportunities
- Donate to CFA - you can select a local brigade you would like to donate directly to.
- GIVIT is a way help people across Vic impacted by bushfires: it provides a list of essential goods and services requested by recovery organisations on behalf of people impacted by the bushfires.
- Victorian Farmers Federation has activated its Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) to provide immediate, farmer-led support to producers impacted by the catastrophic bushfires burning across Victoria - donate here.
- Trust for Nature has launched a Landholder Support – Bushfire Recovery Appeal to support affected Trust for Nature covenantors and Land for Wildlife members and the habitats they care for.
- The ORICoop Resilience & Recovery Fund is seeking donations and volunteers to support and assist organic producers that have been directly impacted by the 2026 bushfires. Go here to make a donation, register for support for organic and biodynamic producers across affected areas, register to volunteer for the next clean up mission, pledge your support if you are an existing organic or biodynamic producer able to lend or offer a hand, sponsor an Organic Farm Blitz in your region, or buy trees to be planted over the next 12 months on organic farms.
- Support Sikh Volunteers Australia, who are cooking meals for fire impacted communities.
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Bayside Community Emergency Relief is offering bushfire relief alongside its regular urgent aid requests - donate directly or see its Facebook group for what's needed
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BlazeAid is a volunteer-based organisation that works with families and individuals in rural Australia after disasters such as fires. It will have basecamps set up for these fires. Camp locations confirmed so far are Goomalibee, Yarroweyah, Skipton, Longwood, Harcourt, Natimuk, and Alexandra. Donations and volunteers are being sought. For anyone wanting to volunteer, more info here. Donate here.
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BlazeAid is registered with Centrelink. There have been changes to the policy for volunteers to meet their job-search requirements (it is no longer limited to volunteers over 55 years of age). Please note that BlazeAid will only sign a Centrelink form for a 2 week block. The Board will not sign off on a Centrelink form for longer periods. Please contact your local Centrelink branch for more information.
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BlazeAid is a registered disaster-relief organisation, so people employed under the Fair Work awards may be eligible to have time away from work to volunteer with us for five days.
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General Facebook page to check/offer help: Help Bushfire - Flood People and Animals in VIC
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Website to register any accommodation or paddock space you have spare for emergency evacuation: https://helpinghomes.com.au/
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Wildlife rescue organisations are asking people who own private property in or around the fire areas if they would allow wildlife rescue teams to access their land to check animals and leave emergency food and water. People can contact their local wildlife rescue organisations to give this permission. Wildlife shelters to donate to or offer assistance:
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Warriors 4 Wildlife (assist local wildlife shelters with donations of supplies)Rescue Rehabilitate Release (Mernda)Terra Mater Wildlife Shelter Inc. (Rushworth)Peechelba Wildlife Rescue Shelter (Peechelba)Dutch Thunder Wildlife Shelter (Koonoomoo)Red Box Wildlife Shelter (Elphinstone)Murrindindi Ranges Wildlife Shelter (Strath Creek)LnLz Wildlife Care & Rescue (Strath Creek)Elouera Wildlife Shelter (Mornington Peninsula)ANIMALIA WILDLIFE SHELTER (Frankston)
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Mutual Aid and Donations for the Harcourt and Ravenswood communities
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Go Fund Me set up by Taradale Fire Brigade for the CFA Volunteers who lost homes in the fire: Help Volunteer Firefighters who lost their homes in Harcourt
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West End Resilience Volunteer Notice Board - WER is connecting people who need support with those can offer it. If you can provide help with temporary accommodation, meals, health and wellbeing, childcare, pet care, transport, manual or skilled labour, admin assistance, tools/equipment, visit the West End Resilience website to share your offer.
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Wild Houses is an initiative started to help fund wildlife boxes in the fire impacted area: fund one of 100 Wild Houses to support recovery around Harcourt and Mt Alexander.
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Castlemaine Community House and local organisations volunteer and equipment register - use the form to be connected with volunteers who may be able to support any bushfire recovery needs, or to offer your support and equipment.
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Mt Alexander Community-driven Bushfire Relief & Recovery - a Facebook page where people can post what they need or can offer
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Find more donation locations and options for supporting people impacted by the Harcourt fires on Mount Alexander Shire Council website's How You Can Help page
Mutual Aid and Donations for Longwood Fire affected communties (Euroa, Yarck and surrounds)
- Murrindindi Disaster Fund - created by Foundation Murrindindi in response to the fires impacting individuals and communities across Murrindindi Shire to support the affected communities
- Murrindindi Community Support Crew - community-run support for Murrindindi locals during crisis and recovery. Practical help, clear information, and connection to support when it’s needed most.
- Murrindindi Ranges Wildlife Shelter Inc - registered wildlife shelter caring for injured and/or orphaned Australian native wildlife - donate directly or assist with providing fuel vouchers, grass (specifically Cocksfoot grass) or browse (tree branches, especially Peppermint Gum, Lemon Scented Gum or River Red Gum) and drop off at Strath Creek. They are also seeking volunteers to help bale hay in Pheasant Creek. Contact them for more info.
- Go Fund Me for a home lost in yarck: Helping Kasey Lee & Tinks rebuild after losing everything
- Find more Go Fund Me's for the Longwood Fire here
- Generator and shipping container donations and large-scale logistical support - info here.
- Fodder support – donate or request to receive here (for Tarcombe, Avenel, Longwood, Ruffy, Euroa, Yea, Alexandra, Yarck, Mansfield, and Yea)
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Yea Community House is currently operating as a Community Support Hub, acting as a drop-off and transfer point for essential supplies requested by neighbouring communities that are currently inaccessible. It is after volunteers and donations - more info here.Gnarly Neighbours has been collecting donations items for community and fire fighters that have lost their houses - donations paused! Check their Instagram for updates.
- Greensborough Grain Store and St Andrews Stockfeeds are getting some feed relief into fire affected areas - fund a Fire Relief Grass Hay Round Bale here.
- Narbeview Wildlife Shelter, a self-funded, non-profit wildlife rescue in Buxton, has been directly impacted by the bushfires: Help Narbeview give bushfire wildlife a second chance
- The Granite to Goulburn Biodiversity Recovery Alliance is an alliance of local environmental groups working together to restore the Granite to Goulburn landscape following the Longwood bushfires. It is moving fast, and needs your help - learn more here (donations as well as volunteers needed e.g. tree planting, citizen science surveys, nesting box building, clearing fences and rubbish, watering trees, lending tools and equipment, and catering for working bees)
Mutual Aid and Donations for Streatham and Skipton
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Go Fund Me to Help Rebuild the Carranballac Recreation Reserve
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Go Fund Me for a home lost: Pauline & Leigh Graham
Mutual Aid and Donations for Yarroweyah
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Find Go Fund Me's for Yarroweyah here
Mutual Aid and Donations for Walwa
- Offers for help and information being shared on the Border Walwa Community Facebook page. Walwa CRC was established in 2020 to facilitate bushfire recovery. It has since combined resources with the BWFNC to establish an organisation to advocate for our community and create events to promote social engagement and increase community capacity.
- Assist localised food relief through Albury Wodonga FoodShare
- UPPER MURRAY Bushfire Support - a Facebook page where people can connect and help to inform each other of services support or donations for families and friends effected by the Upper Murray fires. People can also offer help.
Mutual Aid and Donations for Colac Otway & Surrounding Regions
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Group for those in the Colac Otway Region (only) with news/updates from the Colac Otway fires 2026 - Colac Otway & Surrounding Regions Fires 2026
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Support Madi’s Munchies to provide ration packs and community boxes to those who need it. Donate directly to Madi's Munchies (contact for details) or via Colac Presbyterian Church, which will make a bulk donation on Monday 2 February.
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Donate to Conservation Ecology Centre's Otways Bushfire Wildlife and Habitat Recovery Fund. The fires have torn through the Carlisle Heathlands – a landscape of exceptional ecological importance. Your donation will directly fund our research on the ground in these landscapes to ensure recovery efforts are informed by long-term science.
Resources for Mental Health Impacts
The mental health impacts of extreme weather disasters should not be underestimated. This includes that of those directly impacted by the bushfires through having to evacuate, loss of property, or their travel being impacted, as well as people not directly impacted by a bushfire event. People outside the immediate impact zone also experience solastalgia and poor mental health following bushfires.
If you are in urgent need of psychological help call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or 13 YARN on 13 92 76.
The Disaster Response Network (DRN) is a national network of APS member psychologists who provide wellbeing services to frontline and emergency support workers and volunteers who assist communities impacted by disasters, emergencies and other collective trauma events. These are free-of-charge for eligible not-for-profit organisations.
Psychology for a Safe Climate offers climate-aware support through its CAP Directory, resources, Climate Cafes, and other events (online and in person).
More links for mental health support
Resources for Navigating Disaster Relief and Recovery
The Commons librarians have gathered the following general resources to support community responses to Australian bushfires and other disasters during the 2020 bushfire crisis in Australia. Some information will still be relevant, while others may be out of date. These resources are helpful for those wanting to facilitate disaster relief conversations, ensure just recovery, navigating trauma and more: https://commonslibrary.org/resources-for-disaster-relief-and-recovery/
For those campaigning with people with lived experience of climate impacts, Bushfire Survivors Australia's Lived Experience Guide was developed to provide guidance to organisations to ensure a trauma-informed approach. It might also be helpful for people who have been through the fires and are struggling with the media attention as it includes some tips if you are planning to share your narrative: https://www.bushfiresurvivors.org/livedexperienceguide
Stay informed
To stay informed around current and for future emergencies:
📱 Download the VicEmergency app (iPhone, Android)
📞 Call the VicEmergency hotline on 1800 226 226
📻 Listen to ABC Local Radio - find your local emergency broadcaster here
It is clear that climate change is leading to longer and more intense fire seasons.
Friends of the Earth believes that impacted communities need to be play a pivotal role in the conversations about climate disaster solutions.
Our Act on Climate collective is campaigning for climate adaptation solutions such as funding for local communities to build resilience to locked-in climate impacts. A responsible government should ensure that its citizens are safe by enabling communities to do everything possible to prepare for these impacts, such as worsening fires. Input about what is most needed in your local area is valued and welcomed.
If you have been affected, email [email protected] with input about what your community needs, and any requests for material support and/or the amplification of local needs.
We are thinking of those affected during this challenging time.