The recent fires at Harcourt and Longwood hit close to home for a lot of us in regional Victoria. Not because we were directly threatened this time, but because it could have been any of our properties. Any of our neighbours.
These weren't massive infernos that dominated national headlines. They were the kind of fires that Central Victorian landowners need to understand and prepare for right now. And the conditions that drove them, including heavy fuel loads built up over years of growth, are not going anywhere.
The Rush We're Seeing Since the Fires
Since Harcourt and Longwood, my phone hasn't stopped ringing. The question I keep hearing is: "Is it too late in the season to do anything?"
I understand the urgency. Fires like these force people to confront a reality they may have been postponing. Property owners who have been meaning to address fuel management suddenly feel like they're behind, and with January already here, many worry they've missed their chance.
Here's what I tell them.
Fire management isn't a one-and-done job. It's ongoing work that ideally happens over years, not weeks. But that doesn't mean there's nothing you can do now.
With Victoria's peak fire danger period still ahead in February, there are still critical weeks where smart, targeted work can make a real difference. The key is being deliberate, realistic, and working safely within conditions and restrictions.
Forestry mulching can still help create defendable space around homes, open access tracks for emergency vehicles, and establish strategic firebreaks that may slow or redirect fire movement. We work carefully around Total Fire Ban days, monitoring conditions daily and adjusting schedules to operate safely and responsibly.
If you're feeling unprepared right now, the most important thing is to focus on what's actually achievable before peak danger arrives, rather than freezing because everything feels overwhelming.
What Harcourt and Longwood Taught Us
The lessons from these fires aren't complicated, but they are confronting.
Fuel loads don't care about your timeline. The dense understory, fallen branches, and regrowth on a property today aren't a problem for next year. In the right conditions, they're a problem for this season.
In some cases at Harcourt, families didn't have the opportunity to establish adequate defendable space before the fire arrived, or fuel loads close to homes were simply too dense to manage in time. And it's also important to say this plainly: in large, fast-moving fires under extreme conditions, even well-prepared properties can be overwhelmed. Defendable space improves outcomes, but it does not guarantee safety when fires become uncontrollable.
Ember attack is the silent threat. While many people focus on the fire front, embers often do the most damage. They can travel well ahead of the main fire, sometimes kilometres away, landing in leaf litter, gutters, garden beds, and other fine fuels. I've walked properties after close calls where embers landed tens of metres from the house. If that fuel hadn't been managed, the outcome could have been very different.
Your property is your responsibility. And that's not meant harshly. It's meant practically. No agency, no neighbour, and no fire service knows your land like you do or has more at stake when fire arrives.
The Reality of Fuel Reduction in Victoria
State fuel reduction programs do essential work, but they're stretched across millions of hectares of public land. Recent assessments and reporting have consistently highlighted how difficult it is to meet fuel reduction targets across such vast landscapes, especially with limited safe burning windows.
This isn't about blame. It's about understanding what that reality means for private landowners.
Public agencies focus on public land, strategic corridors, and high-risk zones. Your 20, 50, or 100-acre block sits outside that scope. And honestly, that makes sense. You're best placed to make decisions about how your land is managed, because you understand its layout, values, and risks better than anyone else.
Why Families Are Taking Action Now
Recently, I worked with a couple outside Ballarat whose property backs directly onto dense, overgrown state forest. Thick scrub that hasn't seen meaningful management in years.
They love living where they do. The bush is part of what makes the property special. But they weren't in denial about the risk.
"We can't control what happens in the state forest," they said as we walked the boundary, "but we can control what happens on our side of the fence."
We focused on creating strategic firebreaks along the most vulnerable boundaries and opening access tracks across their land. They didn't clear everything. The character of the property is still there. But now there are defensible zones that could slow or disrupt fire spread, and if firefighters need to get onto the property, they can do so without fighting through impenetrable scrub just to reach the front line.
That's the conversation I'm having more and more. Not with people who've ignored the risk, but with thoughtful landowners who realise the old approach of waiting for the perfect burn window or assuming the state has it covered isn't working anymore.
What Balanced Fuel Management Actually Looks Like
There's no single solution that works everywhere.
Controlled burns absolutely have a place, but they're not always practical, safe, or legal on smaller blocks near homes and neighbours. This time of year, with peak fire danger still ahead, options are more limited.
Forestry mulching creates defendable space that lasts. By reducing dense understory and ladder fuels, it helps create zones where ember attack struggles to gain traction. The mulched material breaks down into the soil rather than sitting as dry surface fuel.
It works alongside CFA guidelines, not against them. Mulching allows property owners to meet defendable space expectations without smoke, flame risk, or neighbour concerns. For properties with complex terrain, sensitive trees, or layouts where burning isn't feasible, it's often the most practical option.
Even when a full-property treatment isn't possible before peak danger, strategic firebreaks and access improvements can still make a meaningful difference.
What You Can Do Right Now to Stay Prepared
Before February's peak fire danger, every bush block owner should consider the following:
Download the VicEmergency app and set watch zones for your property so you receive real-time alerts.
Create or update your bushfire survival plan using CFA tools so decisions aren't made in panic.
Check your property against CFA preparation guidelines, including clearing gutters, managing wood piles, and maintaining pumps or generators.
Assess your defendable space, particularly within 30–40 metres of your home, and identify where embers could find fuel.
Understand local fire restrictions and Total Fire Ban requirements.
Talk to your neighbours, share plans, and support each other.
These aren't optional extras. They're the fundamentals that save lives and homes.
The Question You Need to Ask Yourself
This isn't about fear. It's personal for me too. I live in this region. My kids play in these forests. When I'm working on a property, I'm thinking about the family who may shelter there, and the firefighters who might need to defend it.
So ask yourself this: If fire came through your area in February, would your property be genuinely ready?
Not perfect. Not theoretical. But ready enough to reduce risk, support firefighters, and give you the best possible chance.
If you're not sure, there is still time to change that.
What Happens Next
Harcourt and Longwood won't be the last fires this season. February is historically Victoria's most dangerous fire month, and the conditions that drove those fires remain.
But there is still time right now to act in practical, achievable ways.
If you're unsure what's realistic for your property before peak fire danger, we're always happy to have a no-pressure, practical conversation about options. We work carefully within weather conditions and fire restrictions to help landowners prepare responsibly.
Because the lessons from Harcourt and Longwood are ones we can't afford to ignore.