The local pub played a vital role as a hub for those fighting the out-of-control bushfire which threatened the remote settlements of Woods Point and Gaffneys Creek last month and continues to offer that support, although some challenges remain.

Carley Burdon, who operates the Woods Point Commercial Hotel, was dealing with a rapidly changing situation when the emergency developed with a bushfire heading towards the town.

She is full of praise for the firefighters and other boots on the ground who saved not only the historic hotel but the assets of the town.

With road closures still in place when the Courier spoke to Carley last week, and amid ongoing power and phone issues, it was a tough time for the business and the surrounding area.

But Carley could not praise the “community spirit enough” and said “everybody pulled together”, including part-time residents who made the trip up to help.

The fire, which began on Thursday 19 February near Gaffneys Creek, saw more than 21 vehicles respond to the blaze, which burnt more than 60 hectares before moving in a south-east direction.

By the next day residents near Gaffneys Creek had been told by authorities to leave immediately, while a Watch and Act warning was issued for residents near Woods Point.

Carley said information was limited in the area, with the VicEmergency app not updating as quickly as locals would have liked, which meant relying on Facebook updates.

Radio was not an option either, with no AM available and the FM band also going out, she said.

“We were lucky that the mobile phone tower, which only had power for 20 hours, stayed running after Telstra brought in a generator to power it,” Carley said.

Thanks to local CFA captain Andrew Merlo, who pushed to get CFA strike teams there as soon as possible to protect the town and its assets, she said.

“By Saturday lunchtime it was pretty clear things had taken a turn for the worse and a lot of people implemented their fire plans and evacuated,” said Carley.

With the influx of fire crews from various locations, DEECA personnel and fire rescue teams from Melbourne the previous day, the hotel was accommodating 25 people.

Carley and her husband Luke then had to source enough food to prepare three meals per day for up to 60 people while dealing with no power.

“We went through the food in the freezers – running off generators was tricky,” she said.

Then the generator blew up.

Such was the community spirit that a couple of locals offered their own generators to help out, said Carley.

She was so grateful to her “amazing” staff, Ocean, Anthony and Raylene, who worked non-stop throughout.

Due to damage to powerlines and infrastructure from the fire, AusNet has supplied the township with one large container generator in the interim.

Carley was in awe of the work done by the fire rescue teams using new firefighting equipment.

“A new sprinkler system was used for the first time in Victoria to protect the big assets such as the museum and the old servo,” she said.

“Two to five kilometres of hose was set up with sprinklers and a giant pump down at the river.”

It gave all the stressed townsfolk a feeling of confidence that they were being kept safe, Carley said.

“On the Sunday night when the rain came it washed away that stress and felt like a fresh start.”

Sandra at the local shop said, “Let’s have a can and celebrate,” as the fire risk was reduced.

The Mansfield–Woods Point Road was closed between Kevington and Woods Point and, after the fire danger had passed, closed between the town and Knockwood.

Burnt trees and damaged road surfaces had forced the ongoing closure, Carley said.

Woods Point CFA captain Andrew Merlo said on social media the road was expected to reopen by last Friday prior to the Labour Day long weekend.

According to Carley, she believes the fire has been “contained”, which has been confirmed by emergency services, but “a few hot spots” were still flaring up.

There was a lot of appreciation for the Woods Point CFA and their “amazing efforts all round”.

The Jamieson CFA was also thanked by the hotel because “things would have been very different from the get-go without your back-up”.

The Woods Point and Gaffneys Creek communities were extremely grateful for the huge number of units that turned out from far and wide, including Heywood and the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

Planning ahead is still difficult because the hotel phone was out of action until late last week.

At this stage Carley is unsure if Woods Point will have many visitors over the March long weekend but was feeling more confident about the Easter holidays and the festival activities from Good Friday to Easter Sunday which bring the community together.