ADRA is responding to the Victorian bushfires.
One person has died, over 300 structures have been lost, and an estimated 15,000 livestock have died in fires that have burned at least 390,000 hectares of the state.
Below are regular updates with details of our response:
UPDATE on ADRA’s Victorian Bushfire Response: 15 January 2026
Longwood:
Yesterday, ADRA delivered a truck full of supplies to the Community Centre Football Netball Club, Longwood. The truck was filled with approximately 2 tonnes of food and supplies donated from the teams at ADRA Pakenham, ADRA Wantirna, and ADRA Nunawading, as well as from our charity partners Follow Bless Collective. There were also donations of clothing, shoes, and bedding which met donation requests.
Alexandra and Yarck:
Last night, ADRA volunteers travelled to some of the worst-affected communities to register people for cash assistance and to provide Psychological First Aid. The team also provided slabs of UP&GO, sports drinks, and muesli bars to CFA crews. John Smilek reflects on the relief efforts.
“Last night, Sue, Janine, and I drove into the fire-scarred areas of Alexandra and Yarck in central Victoria, following the devastating Longwood bushfires from last week.
“We passed through two police checkpoints into an eerily silent, blackened landscape. There were no civilian cars on the roads, just the occasional Country Fire Authority (CFA) truck and emergency vehicle cutting through the darkness. We observed flickering spot fires in the paddocks and fires burning on adjacent hills, with smoke thickly hanging in the air and occasional tree stumps glowing red-hot at their centres.”
“The CFA had organised a barbecue for the affected locals, bringing people together after so much loss, and we felt truly privileged to be invited. While connecting with folks there, we noticed the fire had come right up to the very edge of the hall we were meeting in—the grounds scorched, the threat so close, yet the building stood as a vital gathering place amid the devastation.
“We quickly connected with several families, registered those who needed help, and listened to their stories.”
“Some had lost everything. Their faces carried that distant, shell-shocked expression of profound grief. Others, whose homes had miraculously survived, spoke quietly through tears of survivor’s guilt, weighed down by the pain of neighbours who weren’t so fortunate. It was humbling beyond words to stand in their presence, witnessing both their raw vulnerability and extraordinary resilience up close.
“As the crowd slowly dispersed – many heading back to the long task of rebuilding – we drove home, arriving just before midnight with hearts full, grateful for the small chance to show up and support in any way we could.
“To everyone still recovering in these communities: you’re not alone. The road ahead is tough, but the strength and kindness we’ve seen gives real hope.”
Ways to support ADRA’s response:
In times of disaster, cash donations are best. Additional donations such as food or clothing may be accepted when they have been specifically requested by responding agencies and centres. Physical goods that have not been requested can overwhelm teams on the ground and occupy precious storage space.
To support ADRA’s response to the Victorian bushfires, please donate at adra.org.au/disaster.
UPDATE on ADRA’s Victorian Bushfire Response: 13 January 2026
ADRA has activated our National Emergency Management Plan in response to the Victorian bushfires.
One person has died, over 300 structures have been lost, and an estimated 15,000 livestock have died in fires that have burned at least 390,000 hectares of the state.
ADRA is partnering with local Seventh-day Adventist churches and community members to respond to the crisis. The response includes providing financial assistance, emergency evacuation kits, and psychosocial support.
650 emergency evacuation kits were prepared and distributed across the state: 450 from Wangaratta Seventh-day Adventist Church, 100 from the ADRA Op Shop Albury, and 100 from ADRA Ferntree Gully.
“We have been so blessed by the way our ADRA projects have stepped up to help respond to this disaster,” says Naomi Vaotuua, Emergency Response Coordinator for the Victorian bushfires. “So many of these projects are supported and run by a local Seventh-day Adventist Church. These churches are connected to their community in such a beautiful way that in times of disaster, not only does the community band around these churches to support their response, but it means we can see to people’s physical and spiritual needs.”
Wangaratta Spotlight:
When Jan and Dale Mitchell from Wangaratta Seventh-day Adventist Church put out a call to the community for help to assemble emergency evacuation kits, they were overwhelmed with the response.
At 6:15pm on Saturday night, Wangaratta Seventh-day Adventist Church opened their doors for donations. That night, they received approximately 150 carloads of donated goods from the community.
Jan had been specific about what items to donate for the kits and the community responded, donating boxes of deodorants, tissues, sanitary items, and other requested goods.
Jan exclaimed, “One lady must have brought in at least $1,000 worth of stuff!”
By the end of the night, they had packed 450 kits for evacuees made up of donations to the value of approximately $50,000. A local charity called Share the Dignity supported Jan’s efforts by gifting 50 ‘Mum & Bubs’ bags, valued at around $300 each. Supermarkets gifted slabs of water.
Jan and Dale are heavily involved in the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and run an ADRA-supported pop-up op shop every 5-6 weeks. The op shop provides goods free of charge to struggling community members and is visited by 500-600 people each time. As such, the trust the community have for them is undeniable. In times of need, Jan now has a committee of around 20 community members backing her to support the community.
“Once we put the call out for donations, everyone got to work approaching businesses for support and everyone pitched in to get behind the people really doing it tough,” Dale said.
According to Jan, Wangaratta church has a small elderly congregation, but support from the community more than made up the difference, with around 30 people staying to sort and pack.
As well as helping those affected by the fires through emergency evacuation kits, ADRA is supporting the local Wangaratta CFA brigade by providing provisions such as Gatorade and on-the-go snacks.
As a lieutenant in the CFA, Dale knows all too well the psychosocial impacts of fires on communities that have lost everything. He shared that kits like these with toiletries and essentials not only gave people the means to have a shower, snack, and a physical reset, but the kits shared hope that people cared, and encouraged a moment to catch their breath amidst what some would say is the hardest time of their life.
Please support our response to the Victorian bushfires by donating at adra.org.au/disaster.
UPDATE on ADRA’s Victorian Bushfire Response: 8 January 2026
ADRA packed emergency evacuation kits for evacuated residents in North-East Victoria.
The ADRA Op Shop Albury has prepared 100 emergency evacuation kits for residents affected by the fires in north-east Victoria.
The kits, which contain hygiene items such as towels, soap, and toothbrushes, are being delivered to Wangaratta Seventh-day Adventist Church for distribution to those who have been evacuated.
ADRA Ferntree Gully provided toilet paper and essential sanitary supplies to the Lilydale evacuation centre.
“As soon as we arrived at the Lilydale evacuation centre, the centre manager immediately used the supplies to stock the bathrooms,” says Sue Beament, manager at ADRA Ferntree Gully. “Up until that point, there had been ladies using toilet paper for sanitary products.”
In each emergency evacuation kit, ADRA has also included a flyer with psychosocial support materials to help those impacted by the fires access appropriate services.
In late 2025, ADRA conducted National Emergency Response Team (NERT) training for volunteers in disaster-prone areas. Conducting training before a disaster strikes means that volunteers and staff on the ground feel equipped to respond in times of disaster. The Victorian NERT leadership has been involved in coordinating the evacuation packs.
Dozens of suburbs along the NSW/VIC border are under evacuation orders, with residents of Longwood being told to take shelter as it is too late to evacuate. For live updates and alerts, visit https://emergency.vic.gov.au/respond/
To support ADRA’s response in times of disaster, please give at adra.org.au/disaster.