‘Countless homes’ lost in fires in Victorian town of Ruffy
George Noye, the captain of the Country Fire Authority in Ruffy, Victoria, spoke to ABC News this morning after the town was hit by the Longwood bushfire.
Noye said the fire had been “absolutely devastating”, saying the area had lost “countless homes”. He said:
The town’s been impacted severely. The main street looks like a bomb’s gone off.
We’ve lost a school. The CFA shed’s still standing.
At the moment, even to get around the roads is … dangerous and hazardous.
He added: “The school no longer operates but it was a community hub for us where a lot of stuff took place. It is absolutely devastating to see it go.”
Noye said the community was in shock, adding there wasn’t much firefighters could do in the coming days amid hot, dry and windy conditions.
We’ve been through fire before, but this is the first time we’ve been fully hit with the fire front. The community is incredibly resilient and we will get through this.
We did our best. Thankfully we’re all alive.
Key events
Cait Kelly
Ruffy resident describes fire jumping from ridge to ridge: ‘You can’t stop it’
Continuing on from the last post …
Otzen said he had never seen anything like this fire, with crews watching it jump from ridge to ridge.
It’s really hot, it’s really dry. The moisture content in the air is down to less than 10%. The moisture content in the grass is really, really low, because we’ve had strong winds for a couple of weeks.
And you just get a bit of hot wind behind it, and you can’t stop it, and it jumps and jumps and jumps. We saw the fire jump, you know, probably close to a kilometre from behind one ridge to behind the next ridge. We saw the smoke come up, and we’re like, it’s gone. You know, at that point we were screwed.
This isn’t, you know, 50-foot walls of flames, like you get with a massive forest fire. This is a running grass fire. It is really surprising that you can jump that far, but it will, and it did. And you just can never get enough resources in one place.
‘The township of Ruffy … there’s nothing left’
Cait Kelly
Darryl Otzen was fighting the fires in Ruffy when he realised he had lost his own house. He said the Ruffy township and surrounding areas were decimated.
You’ve got farms up there that are completely impacted. Most people have lost all feed, all hay that’s just been bought. Everything’s gone. A lot of properties and houses are gone.
The township of Ruffy … there’s nothing left now. The CFA shed is still there, but that’s just a big tin shed. I think that the hall was still standing too, even though the property next to it burned down.
Lots of properties are very heavily impacted, and it’s still burning up here.
He was with his crew, trying to make their way back to Ruffy township, when they stopped at some of his neighbours to help them. That was when he realised his place was gone.
You couldn’t see the house from the smoke. All the trees down the road were fully alight, and it was like, well, we can’t even get in there. Just keep going.
And my neighbour did go up a little bit later and had a look and said that was, unfortunately, nothing there.
It’s a bit of shit when you’ve been out for two and a half days, and you come back on the truck and drive past what used to be your house. It’s not so great.
‘Countless homes’ lost in fires in Victorian town of Ruffy
George Noye, the captain of the Country Fire Authority in Ruffy, Victoria, spoke to ABC News this morning after the town was hit by the Longwood bushfire.
Noye said the fire had been “absolutely devastating”, saying the area had lost “countless homes”. He said:
The town’s been impacted severely. The main street looks like a bomb’s gone off.
We’ve lost a school. The CFA shed’s still standing.
At the moment, even to get around the roads is … dangerous and hazardous.
He added: “The school no longer operates but it was a community hub for us where a lot of stuff took place. It is absolutely devastating to see it go.”
Noye said the community was in shock, adding there wasn’t much firefighters could do in the coming days amid hot, dry and windy conditions.
We’ve been through fire before, but this is the first time we’ve been fully hit with the fire front. The community is incredibly resilient and we will get through this.
We did our best. Thankfully we’re all alive.
Ley welcomes royal commission, but says it needs to probe Albanese’s efforts on antisemitism
Opposition leader Sussan Ley also spoke to RN this morning, saying the Coalition welcomed the royal commission, noting it had been calling for one for weeks after the Bondi attack.
Ley said:
This was always above politics, always about the national interest in the face of a national crisis. And it is just so important that the work of this royal commission unravel and reveal actions and inactions from Anthony Albanese’s government, particularly over the last two years.
She went on to say the royal commission needed to “confront antisemitism”, questioning the government’s work to do so:
We would question whether he [Albanese] and his ministers really understand the challenge that this country is facing with antisemitism. And I mean, if the prime minister had been as determined to eradicate antisemitism in Australia over the past three years … our country may not have found itself in the position we do today.
Attorney general says PM took ‘time to get this right’ before calling Bondi royal commission
Michelle Rowland, the attorney general, said the prime minister had taken “time to get this right” as the government prepared to call a federal royal commission after the Bondi terror attack.
She told RN Breakfast:
The prime minister and the government have listened to people, particularly the Australian Jewish community, and that listening has not been about politics, it’s about getting The right outcome for our national unity and our national security.
This is an opportunity not only for voices to be heard in the form of a royal commission, but also to take recommendations forward and also to continue the important work that the government has been doing in the last four weeks or so to ensure that our response to this prioritises national security and social cohesion in the long term.
Rowland said the opposition had been engaging in politicking surrounding the calling of a royal commission, adding:
I also would caution those who would seek to try and direct how they think the royal commissioner should operate or how this should run. They should be very careful in how they make those comments because this is not only the highest form of inquisitorial process that’s in this country, but it’s also one that is widely respected.
Head of CFA says every Victorian needs to ‘take notice and take action’ today
The threat of new and rapidly spreading bushfires remains extremely high across the entire state, Heffernan said, urging residents to stay up-to-date with emergency apps and broadcasts throughout the day.
He said:
Today is going to be a hectic and volatile day for firefighters and fire authorities and communities
If a fire starts, it is going to take hold quickly. It will spread very quickly. If firefighters don’t get to that fire in the very early stages and it takes hold, that fire will be uncontrollable and most likely not able to be put out.
Properties lost in Victorian fires as state braces for ‘hectic and volatile’ day
Jason Heffernan, the chief officer of Victoria’s Country Fire Authority, said a number of properties have been lost in a bushfire around the Longwood area, warning residents across the state to be prepared for a “hectic and volatile” day amid a severe heatwave.
Heffernan spoke to RN Breakfast this morning, saying he was “not surprised to hear” that properties had been lost as conditions were “extreme yesterday, catastrophic today”:
Victorians should brace for more property loss or worse today. That is how severe these conditions are at the moment, not only at the Longwood fire but across the state.
My message at the moment to Victorians is yes, we are talking about Longwood and Walwa, but we have many other fires that have started this morning in and around communities … I am expecting more as the day goes on.
Superyacht sinks in Sydney marina after fire
A large superyacht has sunk after a fire in a Sydney marina and another is expected to sink in the coming hours, officials said this morning.
Emergency crews were called to the marina in the suburb of Mosman around 3.30 this morning. Four people have been treated for smoke inhalation and crews have been working to keep the fire from spreading to other vessels nearby.
Adam Dewberry, the superintendent of Fire and Rescue NSW, told ABC Radio Sydney this morning:
One of those yachts has sunk. We expect the other one will sink as well. We’ll also be looking and working with the port’s authorities to contain any contaminated fuels and oils out of the vessels.
MOSMAN – FRNSW , Port Authority and NSW Police working to extinguish a number of vessels on fire in the marina on the western side of the Spit Bridge. Called in just before 3:30am. pic.twitter.com/nBwcWcRPNy
— Fire and Rescue NSW (@FRNSW) January 8, 2026
Good morning, and happy Friday. Nick Visser here to take over as we wrap up the week. Let’s get to it.
Queensland on alert for severe weather and possible cyclone
North-east Queensland is under a severe weather warning and flood watches and warnings as a tropical low threatens to turn into a tropical cyclone.
As of 4am on Friday the low was about 95km from the coast, with sustained winds of 55km/h and gusts up to 85km/h. The system was expected to take a sharp turn southwards today, heading for Townsville, with a “moderate” chance it will pick up enough strength to be classed a cyclone when it crosses the coast on the weekend.
The BoM said if the risk of a tropical cyclone increases further, then gales with wind gusts to 120 km/h may develop during Friday and Saturday initially about exposed coastal parts between Port Douglas and Proserpine, including Cairns and Townsville.
As our story on devastating stock losses in Queensland points out, even if it’s not technically a cyclone, further downpours could be very bad news for those inland.
Rooftop solar reportedly easing record demand for power during heatwave
An interesting aspect of the heatwave is highlighted by a report in the Financial Review this morning about how record demand for power on the grid is being eased by rooftop solar.
The article says that demand in the national electricity market reached its highest-ever level at about 4pm on Wednesday with the nation drawing 38.9 gigawatts.
That beat a previous record set in December 2024, the article says.
While in the past that might have placed strain on the grid, rooftop solar came to the rescue with about 12GW of power, making up almost 30% of the demand.
All renewables sources together – so wind power and hydro – met 67% of demand.
So although that’s good news, because there is still not enough battery storage, by the time the sun went down most of the nation’s demand was met by coal and gas.
‘We wanted to pack up what was precious’
At the Seymour disaster relief centre in Victoria, the Black Summer bushfires are still a nightmarish memory for people seeking shelter.
Cait Kelly went along to speak to some of the people taking shelter.
“We wanted to pack up what was precious,” one says. “We’ve got photos and documents, some of my needlework that is framed, but what do you take when you have a house full of stuff you want to keep? … We just have to keep our fingers crossed and hope.”
Hume Highway closed and regional trains cancelled amid Victorian bushfires
Victoria’s Hume Highway was closed last night and regional trains were cancelled as firefighters from at least two states fought bushfires in the worst heatwave to descend on Australia since 2019-20.
As Melbourne prepared for a forecast of 41C today the acting premier, Ben Carroll, described Victoria as “one of the most bushfire-prone areas in the world”.
“There is also the real risk of heat-related illness throughout the state tomorrow.”
The state health department urged Victorians “to be prepared – stay hydrated, stay indoors as much as possible and make sure you check-in on loved ones”.
Read more here:
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Nick Visser will pick up the news thread.
Firefighters are preparing for catastrophic conditions across many parts of Victoria today after a week of scorching temperatures. The entire state is under a total fire ban and parks and camping grounds are closed. There are also extreme fire danger ratings for much of South Australia and the New South Wales Riverina. We have more coming up.
At the other end of the continent, the BoM estimates about a 50/50 chance of a tropical cyclone crossing the coast in Queensland this weekend. More on that too, soon.
