A month after fire devastated the small Victorian town of Pomonal, residents are returning to pick up the pieces. Despite a mammoth fundraising effort, the cost of demolishing the wreckage will prevent many from rebuilding what was lost.
In the community of 300 people, the blaze destroyed 46 homes and everything inside them, including Anton Henrickson's seven-bedroom house and workshop.
After evacuating on February 13, Mr Henrickson and dozens of others from Pomonal took shelter in Raglan, 80 kilometres to the east. Russ Kellett, a volunteer with the Country Fire Authority in Pomonal, was one of the first firefighters to tackle the blaze as it approached the town."In the hell that overtook Pomonal that day there were no lives lost. I think there's more spirit and hope in what happened than what was lost.""The church, the shop, Barney's pub, the school, the fire station – we knew if we could keep those places alive, it would really help the spirit of the community.
"I've also got a couple of Men's Sheds sending bicycles, especially to the primary-school kids, they need a bike."Colin Macaffer is the licensee of Barney's Bar and Bistro, Pomonal's only pub, and the organiser of an online fundraiser for the town. "The demolition of a property damaged by fire or flood may cost $100,000. People need to be mindful of that and get really good advice."Surrounded by blackened trees and a scorched garden, Pomonal's church is remarkably undamaged.
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