Murrindindi Shire Council - Impact Summary

Murrindindi Shire was the hardest‑hit community in Victoria during the January 2026 fires, bearing the brunt of devastation felt deeply across our towns, landscapes and families.

 Fire impact map

Map-of-Jan-26-fire-impact.jpg

22 Impacted townships/locations

Acheron        Alexandra      Cathkin      
Caveat          Devils River  Dropmore 
Fawcett       Ghin Ghin   Gobur
Highlands    Kanumbra  Koriella 
Limestone Maintaingoon       Merton
Molesworth   Murrindindi Ruffy 
Terip Terip   Thornton  Whanregarwen         
Yarck    

Structures and infrastructure:

  • 193 houses destroyed
  • 10 houses damaged
  • 519 sheds and other structures destroyed
  • 691 infrastructure and plant destroyed

Assets:

  • 451 km roads assessed
  • 87 km roadside tree works underway
  • 228 km tree assessments underway
  • 35 culverts destroyed
  • 48 bridges impacted
  • 9 bridges destroyed
  • 22 pedestrian bridges destroyed

Council support:

  • 1,157 on-site private property assessments required
  • 1,250+ people supported through the bushfire information hubs

Agriculture and farming:

  • 7,796 total stock losses including:
    • 1,512 cattle
    • 5,608 sheep
    • 486 beehives
  • 4,861 km fencing (estimated cost of $121.5 million)
  • 561.4 hectares including apples, cherries, nuts, olives, grapes and more
  • 58,175 hectares feed and pasture lost:
    • 45,697 hectares grazing pasture
  • 18,730 tonnes hay and silage
  • 68 tonnes stored grain

Economy:

  • $3.47 million loss in January 2026 (spendmapp data)