After the ash has settled, support continues.

On the night of 30 December, dairy farmer and CFA volunteer Grant Ward left his property near Colac Colac to help fight fires threatening the town of Walwa, some 60km away. When he returned, his home, along with his parents’, had devastatingly been completely burnt to the ground. After four days wearing the same clothes and shoes, Grant went to the relief centre to try and find his parents, with blistering feet and having had very little to eat. Local police officer Justin Tyres caught him as he turned to leave, and offered Grant assistance he didn’t know how to ask for.