The fire threatened surrounding communities, requiring the evacuation of Dimboola, Pimpinio, Goroke and other rural localities.
The Little Desert Nature Lodge, one home, one fire command vehicle and a significant amount of fencelines were destroyed in the fire.
Following the fire, a public meeting resulted in a committee being established and tasked to work towards positive change and better solutions to managing the park and other state reserves within the Wimmera Fire District.
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West Wimmera Action Group was formed and is now an incorporated organisation with charity status and represents 520 members from around the park.
The group has outlined seven key recommendations, including increased internal breaks of 500 metres wide to provide a greater chance of keeping fires within the park instead of relying on farmland to stop fires.
The group has also called for perimeter breaks along private property boundaries to be maintained, with a lowering of the canopy in the outer 20 metres of the 500-metre break.
Reasons for this action include to provide a larger zone for crew safety so Forest Fire Management Victoria, FFMV, can safely patrol fires without having to use private farm access; to bring the fire down to the ground, slowing the fire as it comes to the edge of the park; to decrease the chance of personal injury to volunteer firefighters and fencing and property being destroyed; and to give wildlife caught behind the fences a far greater chance of survival.
Other recommendations include: better communication with local stakeholders in relation to management of the scrublands in Wimmera Fire District before, during and after fires; the Vic Emergency App to be updated more regularly with accurate and concise data; a more reliable and permanent water supply for helicopter use; and changes to current FFMV management practices.
Group secretary Jennifer Goldsworthy said better management of the park was the crux of the issue.
“If the park was managed better and the prescribed burns that should have been done were done, or they actually said that they would do, if they had been done, the fire wouldn’t have got as far as it did,” she said.
“The way the fire was managed and the confusion, the lack of communication, the disregard for volunteers, landholders and local knowledge – all of those things need to change.”
The document also outlines the mental health toll on those involved in fighting the fire and affected landowners.
Another aspect of the document outlines the ongoing environmental effects of the fire on the national park.
“The desert is not recovering like it should. The weather’s been dry – any of the shoots that have sprouted have been affected by the dry and by frosts,” Mrs Goldsworthy said.
“The regrowth is just not happening. It nearly looks as barren out there now as what it did soon after the fire.
“There’s some signs of recovery but the locals feel that the chances of it coming back to its former glory are slim.
“The environmental impact that this has had on our little piece of paradise has been devastating.”
The document also pays tribute to the countless hours contributed by CFA volunteers, local community and BlazeAid for their work during and after the fire.
For more on the report and the effects of the fire, see coming editions of The Weekly Advertiser.
The entire November 5, 2025 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!
