THE RURAL community has banded together to aid farmers in far western Victoria hit by a bushfire last week.
Dunrobin, near Casterton, farmer Rob Pilmore has organised a fodder drive to provide feed for livestock after around 6500 hectares of farming country, together with bushland, was burnt in a fire that swept across from Wrattonbully, in South Australia through the Poolaijelo and Langkoop districts south of Edenhope.
The fire killed thousands of sheep and cattle and caused tens of millions of damage to local properties, including farms and timber plantations.
Firefighters narrowly avoided the flames taking out local public buildings, such as the Poolaijelo Hall.
"We've been targeting hay for people with properties that have been burnt out and we've had a fantastic response," Mr Pilmore said.
"The hay is going into places where people have got their stock in containment yards while they sort out fences and issues like that," he said.
Mr Pilmore said there had been generous donations from across Victoria and South Australia.
"We've got offers from everywhere, it is fantastic, we've probably got pretty much enough now so it has been a great response.
"It is not a huge big operation organising a massive convoy of B-Doubles full of bales but we've managed to get enough to ensure the animals are OK."
He said there had been an especially good response from farmers in the Lucindale, SA, district.
"When Lucindale had the fires a couple of years ago a lot of people from Poolaijelo helped out, so the Lucindale farmers were very keen to reciprocate, it shows the community spirit in rural areas is alive and well" he said.
Mr Pilmore said the fire had moved fast through open grassy country and then thrown a curveball for fire fighters when the wind changed direction.
"It burnt south-east from Wrattonbully when the wind was in the north-west, then we had a southerly change and that is when it got close to the Poolaijelo township," he said.
"There was a bit of luck in that a fire fighting aircraft was being moved from Perth to Melbourne for the summer and happned to be travelling pretty much over the top of the fire when it happened, fully loaded, so it was used and helped control one line of the fire," he said.