Community
6 February, 2026
Firies experience close call
TWO farmers and Country Fire Authority (CFA) volunteers had a close call during last week’s Larralea fire event, with the fire burning metres from their homes.
A grassfire began in Larralea on Tuesday, where over 45-degree heat and dry conditions resulted in the fire burning over 3249 hectares.
Roger Horspole, who lives on Gnarpurt Road, and Ian Gordon, who lives on Westbank-Gnarpurt Road, both saw the fire closing in on their homes while they were working to protect their neighbours.
Mr Horspole said the fire moved quickly, arriving before he knew where it was headed.
“It came that quick, and by the time I got here, the road was smoked over and I couldn’t see,” he said.
“I went through the paddocks on a whim, hoping I could get through – I did safely in the end.
“By the time I got through the smoke, I realised the fire was coming towards us.
“I parked at the back of the house and hoped we could squirt some water so it would shoot around the house, which it did.
“It’s very heart wrenching, that’s for sure. It was too close for comfort, and I never want it that close again.”
Mr Gordon had a similar experience, describing the fire as “scary, fast and dangerous”.
“In my case, we got the callout and went to the fire shed, but the truck had already gone so I used my personal unit to help a neighbour,” he said.
“We got in there and didn’t have enough firepower in our little unit, so we went back home after we ran out of water as the fire was heading towards our home.
“By the time we got onto Westbank Road, flames were going over the road, so we had to put our heads down and drive through the flames to get back on our road and to our place.
“By the time we got there, it was in the back of our farm.
“All we did then was just kick off our tanker and tried to move stock out of the way of the fire because we had a lot of stock out there.”
Mr Gordon reported a loss of 380 ewes, many of which had to be euthanised due to severe burns, close to 50 per cent of his farmland and around 40 kilometres of fencing.
“I wasn’t happy about it, but I suppose that’s just what it is,” he said.
“We had friends and neighbours that came over the next day and we had to euthanise quite a lot that were badly burnt, but alive.
“They took control of that for me – Roger was one of those, and that was a job we didn’t want to do.
“We euthanised them and buried them in a big pit, which was pretty heart wrenching.”
As lieutenants in their local CFA brigades, the pair worked to protect the properties of their neighbours alongside the 60 CFA vehicles and 100 responders.
The true total of responding units, which includes privately-owned firefighting vehicles, saw over 125 units respond to the fire.
Mr Gordon said most families were out in force fighting the Larralea fire.
“My son Angus was with me as well – he was in more danger than I was because he was in the back of the ute copping the heat,” he said.
“It was coming straight for the house, but I thought our house would be okay because we had all our sheds and a lot of bare ground behind the house as well as lots of trucks.
“There were probably more private tankers here than CFA tankers, and they probably saved the day.
“If we didn’t have private tankers, or farmers with the speed discs and power harrows and graders, it would have probably been 10 times worse.”
Mr Horspole said his family was also helping to fight the fire.
“My father was discing around the fire, and my brother was on the Leslie Manor tanker as well,” he said.
“My daughter and nephew were helping me spot from a distance in another car so they could tell me which way the fire was heading so I could take a read on it, and they also moved stock for me.
“There was a lot of volunteers from the CFA, and I couldn’t thank them enough.
“Everyone’s been so supportive, and it’s been overwhelming with people ringing and asking to help.
“It’s very nice – there’s lots of support.”
Mr Gordon said the poor telephone coverage in the area was worsened by the fires, reducing communication between those fighting the fire and those who left early.
“Communication was difficult, so our wives didn’t know where their husbands, sons and family were or whether they were alive,” he said.
“It’s probably harder on them than us because at least we’re there – we’re in the thick of it, and we don’t have a lot of time to think.”
Mr Horspole said those on the fire ground saw issues with technology from the heat of the fire.
“Everyone’s phones overheated as well because it was so hot,” he said.
“Sheree (my wife) was completely panicked when I finally got my phone back working again because it overheated for two hours – it was untouchable until it cooled down.
“I had to go and put it in the fridge, so it would cool down.
“When I finally got in contact, she thought I was dead.”
Residents in the area saw strong community support, from the Horspoles having 10 of their horses rescued by a good samaritan with a horse float and neighbours who escaped the flames taking in livestock to volunteers helping to clean up in the aftermath.
“The support from the community around us has been overwhelming – I haven’t eaten so well in months thanks to all the food offered,” Mr Gordon said.
“The amount of support, offers of help, adjustment, hay and silage has been amazing.
“There would have been hundreds of people here, 80 per cent of them I’ve never seen before and will never see again, and they were here on a day like that risking their lives to save other people’s property.”
