'Nothing left': Newlyweds, guests flee in terror as bushfire engulfs farm wedding
A newlywed couple celebrating their dream wedding in front of 150 guests have been sent fleeing in terror as a fast-moving firestorm engulfed the farm in Victoria’s west.
Friends and family gathered at the Gazette property, southeast of Hamilton, to watch the couple share their first dance as husband and wife under the starlit sky on Saturday night.
But as the night went on a thick, red smoke quickly drowned out the stars before flames came hurtling towards the property.
Elle Moyle, who hosted her friend’s wedding on her family's farm, told Yahoo7 News within 10 minutes of smelling smoke, the entire sky had “turned completely red”.
“There was no way to get anyone out because all the buses were locked… it was chaos,” she said.
“There was no warning, the winds were just ridiculous."
The party sought shelter in a nearby stable as they desperately coordinated an escape plan.
“We eventually got onto the bus drivers and they managed to get everyone [back to Hamilton]," Ms Moyle said.
The 27-year-old veterinarian stayed behind alongside her family to protect as much of their 6000 acres as possible.
As guests were rushed away, local CFA volunteers turned up in force.
“At one point there were 34 fire trucks on our property, with four people on each of them,” Ms Moyle added.
But even with reinforcements, there was little they could do to save Ms Moyle’s brother’s property.
The 25-year-old lost his house, two hay sheds, fencing, livestock and his dogs.
“He is in shock, he has nothing left, he is distraught,” Ms Moyle said.
“It was the worst night of our life.”
Despite losing 800 acres of land to the bushfire, the family know it could have been so much worse had it not been for the prompt CFA response.
“They saved us,” Ms Moyle said.
At least 18 homes have been damaged or destroyed in Victoria, with residents from several towns seeking shelter in relief centres.
Apart from the housing toll, hundreds of beef and dairy cattle have also been killed and about 40,000 hectares of prime pastoral and other lands burnt out.
Meanwhile more than 70 properties were destroyed when fires ripped through the coast town of Tathra on the NSW Far South Coast.
