Length
02:22 min
Summary
Fire-damaged trees are helping fuel recovery in Terip Terip following the January 2026 Victorian bushfires. As part of the clean-up effort, suitable timber from fire-damaged trees is being collected, cut and split into free firewood for local households.
Transcript
[heavy machinery grappling logs and aerial view of log piles]
[excavator felling a burnt tree onto a road and lifting logs out of a truck tray]
Stuart Russell, Manager Operations and Maintenance, Murrindindi Shire Council: We're at Terip at the firewood processing yard. We had the January 2026 Victorian bushfires burn through Murrindindi Shire Council. We had about 450 km of impacted roads so it's about 900 km of roadside. We needed a central spot so we could actually keep moving forward with the roadside clearing and a spot to actually store material and then we had to work out what we're actually going to do with it. So in discussions with the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) and our assessors, we decided to set up firewood processing.
[industrial wood saw cutting through tree trunks]
Lyn Burleigh, Terip Terip resident: All our stock on our own properties, which are fallen trees from years before, that have been sitting in our paddocks, you always plan, well that tree is for next year and this tree is for 2 years, but all that is gone. The fire just burnt it. So, to be able to have this available to us is like, it's such a privilege.
[truck tipping firewood from the truck tray into piles for collection]
Dylan Anderson, Arborist: I love working up around here. Just the community, they're all just genuine country people. They've all been super grateful. And just little things even out on our crews working in the area offering their properties to park a bit of equipment. Everyone's happy for mulch. The feedback's amazing.
[arborist worker with chainsaw felling a burnt tree]
Stuart: We've essentially got an online booking system, where residents, they come in, they'll load up their material, they get about a cubic metre, sometimes a little bit over, and then they're able to have multiple bookings.
[machinery sawing wood with workers watching and CAT machinery picking up and moving logs]
Dean Purkis, Emergency Management Victoria: Emergency Management Victoria is really happy to support the council in delivering this innovative project. It’s a great way that they’ve been able to be creative and we’re really happy to support that.
Lyn: Recovery isn't a 6-month journey, it's not 9 months, it's not 12 months; it's probably a couple of years. And this pile of firewood is a reminder that, you know, there is a long-term vision to keep us supported through programs like this. It's good. It’s a good thing.
[Emergency Management Victoria logo]
[End transcript]
Updated