Firefighters who had been deployed from Lilydale Fire Brigade to Alexandra last week returned to the station safe but tired on Wednesday afternoon.
The last remaining Lilydale volunteers who spent three nights further up the highway arrived at the station at around 1.30pm on 14 January.
“From our brigade itself, we had nine go throughout the duration of the (Longwood fire) and more are on standby once again,” Captain Warren Davis said.
The first crew of Lilydale CFA firefighters were sent to Alexandra, facing a big task.
“The first crew, they went up on the day of response, they protected Alexandra. They performed a coordination of vehicles, of tankers around the town, and they were protecting the assets around Alexandra,” Mr Davis said.
But the response continued, with a convoy of firefighters from District 13 headed for Walwa on the New South Wales border to assist with the firefighting efforts, departing headquarters on 15 January.
Eleven major fires continued to burn on Wednesday afternoon after blackening more than 400,000 hectares.
More than 700 structures have been destroyed or significantly damaged, including 228 homes and 450 outbuildings.
Easing conditions have allowed Victorian fire authorities to focus on containment and burnout operations a week on from bushfires breaking out across the state.
Several relief packages have been announced by the State and Federal Governments to support Victorians affected by the devastating fires.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan announced a $100 million support package on Wednesday, including $40 million in grants to fire-affected primary producers.
A new $15 million recovery package was also announced on 14 January focused on helping Victorians start the massive clean-up process following the devastating fires.
The 2026 Victorian Bushfire Appeal is now open for donations to support fire‑affected communities, with Victorians able to contribute via vic.gov.au/2026-Victorian-Bushfire-Appeal.
Donations of food, clothing and essential items have also started being collected across communities, as well bales of hay being transported to farmers.
Mr Davis said, however, from his experience in the past with the recovery effort post-fires, often man’s best friend can be forgotten.
“Donations will be starting to roll in shortly, what they need to consider as well is a lot of farmers are up there with their dogs,” he said.
“They’ve lost their houses and everything like that. They’ve lost stock for their cattle, but a lot of people tend to forget about the dogs, the farmers’ dogs. They’ve got no food up there for them.
“There’d be people who would be willing to run the food up to these areas to make sure the farmers’ dogs are fed.”
In a post to social media, the Lilydale Fire Brigade said it was “immensely proud” of the effort and dedication of its members but also the broader CFA volunteer base and the community.
“Our team performed great work over the past days but we are a cog in a significant machine that has responded to these fires and it’s not over yet,” the post read.
“Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by the events of yesterday (9 Jan) and we also send our well wishes to the firies up there who have had to fight fires while their own properties were under threat.
“We’re thinking of you and we hope the challenges to come aren’t anything like the ones you faced yesterday.”
