Several public meetings were held on Thursday to update the community on the fires in the Little Desert.

Around fifty people gathered in the Old Shire Hall to hear an update from Deputy Incident Controller John Rofe. Representatives from Victoria Police, Hindmarsh Shire, Parks Victoria, and Rural Financial Counselling Service also addressed the meeting.

While the fire activity in the Dimboola area has quietened down over recent days, fires remain in the western part of the Little Desert National Park south of Kaniva.

To yesterday, 95,000 hectares have been burnt in the Little Desert fire, and 135,000 hectares have been burnt in the Grampians fires.

The job of bringing these fires under control has been a big effort across many Victorian agencies, along with resources from across the country. Fire services from South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, and Tasmania contributed, along with a fleet of aerial appliances, including observation aircraft, bombers flying from Stawell, Hamilton, and Nhill aerodromes, and large aircraft based at Avalon near Geelong.

Although the threat has lessened in this area of the fireground, the National Park remains closed and access to locations such as Horseshoe Bend, Aurora Camp, and the golf club remains restricted as hotspots are extinguished and damaged trees are assessed.

All of the major routes around and through the National Park have now reopened to traffic, but some roads remain closed, such as Horseshoe Bend Road on the west side of the River at Dimboola and several roads in the area between the highway and the Park’s northern boundary near Gerang Gerung and Kiata.

A Community Newsletter is available with further information.
Current Advice message issued at 11.43 am Friday 7 February 2025

An Advice message was issued this morning for the Cooack, Dimboola, Duchembegarra, Gerang Gerung, Goroke, Grass Flat, Kiata, Little Desert, Nhill, Nurcoung, Pimpinio, Wail, and Winiam East communities.
  • The bushfire in the Little Desert National Park is not yet under control.
  • This message applies to the main part of the fire which occurred on Monday 27 January and is situated in the Central and Eastern Blocks of the Little Desert National Park.
  • There is some fire activity in the area south of Lawloit.
  • Fire crews continue to treat hazardous tress, monitor hot spots and consolidate containment lines.
  • Small areas of smoke within the containment area may be visible.
    There is currently no threat to communities, but you should continue to stay informed and monitor conditions.
People located within these areas are able to resume normal activities but are encouraged to review their survival plan and monitor weather conditions with several hot day