In the North East region, the Walwa – River Road fire started on 5 January and burnt from the Murray River down to the Wabba Wilderness and was classified as contained on 6 February 2026.
As at 12 February 2026 approximately 121,500 hectares (Ha) has been burnt. The burnt area is 78% public land, that includes 13,500 Ha of pine plantations. 22% of the fire impacted private land with at least 14 residences burnt, numerous agricultural buildings and stock losses.
As well as sites of cultural heritage, many areas of high value biodiversity habitat, significant community assets were impacted including Shelley Camp, Avondale Gardens, the Upper Murray Landcare Office and the Upper Murray Rail Trail and heritage trestle bridges.
Image: Map of Walwa fire extent January 2026
The Walwa – River Road fire lies predominantly to the west of the 2019/20 Upper Murray fire footprint however approximately 15% of the current fire extends into the 2019/20 fire footprint. Smaller parts of the area in the southern end of the burn have been previously impacted by fire in 2003 (see image below for map).
Image: 2019-20 Fire extent shown in pink
Biodiversity Impacts
- 41% of area impacted is most important habitat for biodiversity
- 40% of area burnt at least once by any fire since 2000
- 60% of the area within the fire footprints are within longer unburnt habitat.
- 165 listed threatened species (Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (state) (FFG) & Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Aust Govt) (EPBC) have modelled habitat burnt by this incident.
- 11 species with >30% of modelled habitat or Victorian Biodiversity Atlas (VBA) records within the fire areas
Key species include:
Waterway Health Impacts
- 361 km of waterways are within the fire impact zone.
- The CMA has recorded 1054 ha of land under management agreements across biodiversity, Landcare and river health programs with multiple landholders.
- Assets in the fire impacted area include fencing, revegetation, rock and timber structures.
- Likely impacts to water quality through sedimentation following rainfall
- Potential impacts to aquatic species trough reduced water quality / sedimentation
Agriculture Impacts
- Livestock losses (cattle and sheep)
- Softwood Plantation losses (approximately 10,000ha)
- Loss of feed
- Loss of fences
- Impacts to stock water quality through sedimentation
Role of CMAs in Fire
Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs) play a key role supporting natural disaster recovery in Victoria, including leading the development and prioritisation of recovery programs for CMA assets and waterways, plus supporting land managers to undertake erosion control, water quality protection and restoration and rehabilitation of waterways.
CMAs support assessment of asset damage and prioritise bushfire and flood recovery programs for delivery, if funded by governments. Through the recovery effort, CMAs address impacts to surface water, groundwater, salinity, plant and animal species and communities. CMAs can also manage environmental water releases to help water quality, vegetation, and animals, underpinning environmental health and recreational and social activities. CMAs support Landcare groups, Landcare facilitators and community groups to plan and implement a wide variety of local actions to meet community needs.
Works on Waterways
Works and activities in, under, on or over the bed and banks of Designated Waterways in Victoria require a Works on Waterways Permit from the relevant Catchment Management Authority. To protect our rivers and creeks it is important that new activities or works undertaken do not adversely affect the health of those waterways.
Works and/or activities requiring a permit may include:
- Access crossings including bridges, culverts and fords
- Services/utility crossings
- Stormwater outlets
- Stabilisation works such as bank protection, battering and retaining structures
- Vegetation and debris removal
- Sand and gravel extraction
If you are considering undertaking any activities listed above, please contact the CMA to discuss a Works on Waterway permit. There is no cost to obtain a permit, and you will receive free advice / information on your proposed works.
For further information please see the Works on Waterways section on the CMA website: Works on waterways
Resources Available
To help land managers following the 2019/20 fires, North East Catchment Management Authority and Agriculture Victoria collaborated with Murray and Riverina Local Land Services and Soil Conservation Service to prepare three short, informative videos about soil erosion. These videos are great resources that are applicable following the most recent fires:
Bushfire Erosion Video Series
The Gecko CLaN has also produced a great suite of information on protecting water supply following fires: Fire Recovery - Gecko CLaN
Agriculture Victoria Resources:
Agriculture Victoria has a number of fact sheets on what to do after a bushfire on:
What to do after a bushfire | Bushfires | Emergency management | Farm management | Agriculture Victoria
Other Resources
The VicGov website has a large range of resources to support relief and recovery support for people and communities affected by the Victorian fires that started on 7 January 2026 :
January 2026 Victorian bushfires | vic.gov.au
What's next?
If you have a waterway that has been impacted by fire (debris in waterways, burnt riparian vegetation etc.), please contact the CMA. We are currently gathering information on the impacts to waterways to inform recovery bids.
The CMA has funded a number of landholders within the fire impact zone to install fences, undertake weed control and revegetation. If your site has been impacted by the fires, please contact us so we can ensure that we can again capture this information to feed into any recovery bids.
Contact us:
Please reach out to the CMA if you have any questions about your waterways including obtaining a Works on Waterways permit on 300 216 513 or email necma@necma.vic.gov.au