Bushfire recovery continues across Shire

Published on 31 March 2026

Ten weeks after the January fires across Corangamite Shire, Council is still working to help communities around Skipton, Larralea and Simpson get back on their feet.

Mayor Kate Makin said the fires had disappeared from the headlines but “a hell of a lot of work” was still going on.

“On a daily basis Council staff are in touch with community members affected by the Streatham to Skipton (Yalla-Y-Poora) fire, the Larralea Fire, and the Otways Complex, which impacted around Kennedys Creek and Simpson,” Cr Makin said.

“We're currently involved in case support for 21 families in the Skipton area.

“During the fires, Corangamite and Pyrenees Shire staff supported 100-plus people at the Beaufort Emergency Relief Centre and more than 690 people went to the Skipton Recovery Hub in the following weeks.

“Council coordinated water and waste cleanup, including five tank cleans, eight properties having tank and dam refills.

“Twelve properties have been supplied with multiple waste and scrap metal bins.

“Eight community and business network recovery meetings, together with Pyrenees and Ararat, have been held including some sessions with clinical psychologist David Younger.

“The work has been constant with a significant number of community meetings, newsletters sent out on a weekly basis, and regular social media and website updates.

“Officers also organised a bowls night and barbecue for the Skipton community, and a dinner for the people whose homes were burnt.

“In Larralea, we're working with 15 different families where we've had a community meeting and joined with the CFA and volunteers in a thank-you barbecue.

“We've helped five properties there with tank and dam refills and seven with multiple waste and scrap metal skips.

“Our advocacy has been significant too, both when politicians have visited and when the CEO and I have gone to Melbourne a couple of times.

“We've also been doing advocacy work around Simpson in relation to telecommunications and power security, given the experiences of those communities.

“Our submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry will form a big part of that.

“We know recovery is a marathon, not a sprint. The important thing is for our community to know they’re not forgotten. Council is here to help and is only as far away as a phone call.”