Burning Land

The Yarra Valley is one of the major wine producing areas of Australia. It is Victoria's oldest wine region, with over 3,600 hectares under vines. Located just one hour's drive from Melbourne, the Yarra is actually a group of valleys, surrounded by low mountains, a mixture of arable farming, animal rearing and vineyards.

Victoria has been suffering a drought for many years now and the land is parched brown. The dams are down to 30% capacity and water is increasingly short. All this could have been coped with. But then, three weeks ago, there was a massive heat wave. Temperatures soared to 48c. And then the winds came, more than 100kms per hour, blowing up from the South. The result was fire, advancing across the land at panzer speed, leaping roads, torching trees and smearing crops in flame.

We drove out to the Yarra today. The aftermath of these terrible fires, which have claimed more than 210 lives and many hundreds, if not thousands, of domestic animals, cows and sheep, was plain to see. Blackened fields stretched in all directions, punctuated by trees whose scorched trunks were witness to terrible heat. At Yarra Tracks Winery, the human cost was made plain to us. The owner showed photos taken the day the fires raced up the hill to the wineryjust after five in teh afternoon. As they watched trees burst into flames and all their tractors were incinerated. They spent 10 hours fighting the fires, attempting to keep the flames away from their home, but ready at any moment to jump into the swimming pool in a bid to survive. In the end, they did save their house and wine store, but everything else went. On their 70 acres, there is not a fence remaining, not a shed and all their crops are gone. Of their fiften acres of vines, the new plantings seem to be blackened stumps. It is possible the older vines will survive, but they won't know for many months. It was clearly an utterly traumatic moment for the owners of Yarra Tracks, but at least they are still alive.

Now, the countryside is threatened again, with severe heat and high winds predicted for early next week. The fires, which can still be smouldering underground - you can feel the earth is still hot under you palm - may reignite and for the second time in a month, bush fires will come to the Yarra. The Yarra Valley is one of the major wine producing areas of Australia. It is Victoria's oldest wine region, with over 3,600 hectares under vines. Located just one hour's drive from Melbourne, the Yarra is actually a group of valleys, surrounded by low mountains, a mixture of arable farming, animal rearing and vineyards.

Victoria has been suffering a drought for many years now and the land is parched brown. The dams are down to 30% capacity and water is increasingly short. All this could have been coped with. But then, three weeks ago, there was a massive heat wave. Temperatures soared to 48c. And then the winds came, more than 100kms per hour, blowing up from the South. The result was fire, advancing across the land at panzer speed, leaping roads, torching trees and smearing crops in flame.

We drove out to the Yarra today. The aftermath of these terrible fires, which have claimed more than 210 lives and many hundreds, if not thousands, of domestic animals, cows and sheep, was plain to see. Blackened fields stretched in all directions, punctuated by trees whose scorched trunks were witness to terrible heat. At Yarra Tracks Winery, the human cost was made plain to us. The owner showed photos taken the day the fires raced up the hill to the wineryjust after five in teh afternoon. As they watched trees burst into flames and all their tractors were incinerated. They spent 10 hours fighting the fires, attempting to keep the flames away from their home, but ready at any moment to jump into the swimming pool in a bid to survive. In the end, they did save their house and wine store, but everything else went. On their 70 acres, there is not a fence remaining, not a shed and all their crops are gone. Of their fiften acres of vines, the new plantings seem to be blackened stumps. It is possible the older vines will survive, but they won't know for many months. It was clearly an utterly traumatic moment for the owners of Yarra Tracks, but at least they are still alive.

Now, the countryside is threatened again, with severe heat and high winds predicted for early next week. The fires, which can still be smouldering underground - you can feel the earth is still hot under you palm - may reignite and for the second time in a month, bush fires will come to the Yarra.