Overnight the fires raced over the hills from Corryong and into our valley burning everything in its path. The Thowgla Valley is located one ridge over from the township of Corryong and is approx. 30km in length and 12-15km wide. The majority of our valley is surrounded by bushland and consists predominantly of livestock and dairy farms with a small community of lifestyle residents located at Uppe
r Thowgla. Since New Year’s Eve the valley has been under extreme threat with many paddocks burnt out, fences destroyed, livestock dead or without feed and devastatingly for some locals in our valley, homes have been lost. Residents have fought the fires relentlessly for many weeks; monitoring the fires throughout the day and night, managing spot fires and breakouts, and doing our best to contain the fire and stop it from spreading over into the surrounding bushland and valleys beyond. We’re extremely proud of the efforts we have made to help protect our properties and surrounding communities working together and managing as best we can. During the most trying times and in the hours of desperation and fear for our lives other surrounding community fire-fighting trucks and resources including the Corryong fire trucks were stretched and unavailable to help support us. We were told that we were on our own. For the most part our valley folk were left unattended to fight and save our livelihoods using whatever private equipment was available. This was mainly 4WD trucks/utes with slip-on fire fighting units on the back, tractors to grade breaks and whatever other pumps and equipment we could gather. Luckily, soon after the first outbreak of the fires we managed to secure the lend of a quick-fill pump. We positioned this on the Thowgla Creek and throughout our later firefighting efforts it was an invaluable piece of equipment; allowing us to fill up our tanks within 3-4 minutes compared to over 12-15 minutes per tank previously using conventional pumps. For many years the Thowgla Valley community have been desperate to establish our own fire brigade and purchase our own firefighting truck/4x4 and equipment. These assets would be invaluable long-term for the safety of our community and will result in far greater response times to fires and flare-ups to protect homes and livelihoods into the future. We have experienced this desperate need again with the challenges of these devastating recent events. If you've ever visited the pristine Thowgla Valley, know someone from the valley, grew up in the valley or if you really want to donate to a cause that is going to make a real long-term difference to the lives of some devastated but resilient people... we ask that you donate to the Thowgla Valley Fire Brigade or donate any of the vital pieces of equipment such as quick-fill pumps and fire fighting equipment. Here is our details to donate directly to the Thowgla Valley Fire Brigade Fund. Bendigo Bank
Name: Thowgla Valley Fire Brigade
BSB: 633000
Acc #: 172075897
Thank you everyone for your ongoing support. For further information please contact the Thowgla Valley Fire Brigade - James Paton - mobile 0428508314.
