Widespread rain since Sunday has been welcomed across East Gippsland, completing the trio of the Aussie drought-fire-flood cycle.According to the Bureau of Meteorology, in the 24 hours to 9am yesterday, the highest fall recorded was Stratford at 109 millimetres.Bairnsdale recorded 75mm, Bullumwaal 79mm, Mallacoota 28mm and Omeo 18mm.Aside from replenishing soils and dams, the water has caused...

Buchan resident, Jim Norling, and his friend, Judy Sturrock, were spraying water around his property in the heart of the town when the inferno wreaked its fury across the landscape.Mr Norling and Ms Sturrock had earlier been putting the chooks to bed and feeding the cockatoos and the five sheep on the property.It was just before 7.30pm on December 30 and Mr Norling was wetting down around the...

Incredible stories of survival keep coming out of the horrendous bushfire disaster, but spare a thought for those living in more isolated communities who have had to defend their houses and farms on their own.Recently, Tarryn Henderson travelled to Gelantipy where her parents-in-law, Bill and Annemarie Henderson, live, and on to Wulgulmerang where her parents, Dick and Marg Rogers, live at Black...

A meeting tonight in Bruthen between BlazeAid volunteers and bushfire-affected farmers will be held at the Bruthen Mechanics Hall at 6pm.BlazeAid’s John Anderson said a camp was planned to set up on January 18 with operations to start the following week.Mr Anderson, from Bunyip, spent five months working with BlazeAid after the fires in his area.“Those Bunyip fires were not nearly as big and we...

The Mountain Cattlemen’s Association of Victoria (MCAV) Get Together has been called off days out from the event due to extreme weather.Initially scheduled to kick off this Friday, the group made this difficult decision out of respect for those currently battling fires and after the Mansfield Shire was included in the Premier’s declaration of a State of Disaster.“This is not a decision we have...