Authorities and firefighters say the Victorian fires of January 2026 were unlike anything seen before in speed, scale and destruction. And they came much earlier than normal

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A new fight for Victorian farmers – saving livestock that survived devastating bushfires

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ictoria has been battered by some of the most destructive bushfires in its history, with blazes tearing through 400,000 hectares across the state and claiming the life of a cattle farmer, Maxwell Hobson. Almost 900 buildings have been destroyed, including more than 250 homes, and more than 15,000 livestock have been killed, along with countless wildlife.