PARK WATCH Article June 2026 |

Continuing our look at the impact on nature of the January 2026 bushfires, Jordan Crook, Parks & Nature Campaigner, assesses the Ruffy-Longwood area 

In early January 2026, the Ruffy-Longwood fire burnt 138,000 hectares of mostly private land, destroying 113 homes. Our thoughts are with the people affected, as well as the wildlife and livestock. We’re grateful to the many volunteer and forest fire fighters on the front line, and emergency services including SES and volunteer wildlife rescuers.

Many small bushland reserves  were impacted, as well as roadside trees and habitat.

Even though the area impacted was extensive, many large patches of bush escaped unscathed thanks to the dedicated work of fire fighters and the historic nature of land clearing in the region. Altogether 37 reserves were impacted, ranging from bushland and conservation reserves to scenic and streamside reserves.

Of deep concern are reports of many large old Red Gums being cut down along roadsides by Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV). We’re working with local groups to raise these concerns with the local council and FFMV. We’re calling for genuine tree risk assessments based on the species of tree and risk level, rather than just chopping trees because they burnt.

Red Gums are notoriously tough and recover quite well from fire. If trees aren’t impacted by other threats like soil compaction and root damage, and they get enough rain, they will recover.

As a lot of these reserves recover from the fires, the threats of feral deer and weed invasion from the surrounding landscape are high. How these threats are managed will determine which plants recover and flourish.