Bushfire-affected communities are coming together to support each other as fire crews work to control the blaze.
Katrina Bowden at the White Hart Hotel in Longwood has offered up her pub as a safe space for those who have fled their homes in the fire.
A view of the fire from the White Hart Hotel in Longwood, where locals are welcome to seek shelter. Credit: White Hart Hotel Longwood
“We’ve got a couple of locals staying in with us, and we’ve been providing food for the CFA up the road,” she said.
“We’ve had some people pop through last night too as they were waiting to see what to do and what the go was. We’re sort of known as a local lounge room here, so everybody comes here to meet up.”
She said despite the obvious nerves among residents trying to fight the fires or evacuate, locals were just trying to get on with it rather than focusing on the chaos.
“Everyone’s just been knuckling down and getting on with it really. Everyone is still nervous and obviously on high alert, and we’ve had a few people pop in early this morning that had to evacuate last night when the wind changed,” she said.
“Longwood is huge for community. If anything happens, everyone just jumps in. You don’t even have to know them, it doesn’t matter.”
An emergency relief centre has also been set up at the Seymour Sports and Aquatics Centre on Pollard St in Seymour for residents who have been forced to flee their homes.
