By Stephanie Chalkley-Rhoden, ABC
Photo: ABC News
During winter the trees and hills surrounding the small hamlet of Ruffy, in central Victoria, are beautiful and green.
But in summer everything dries out.
On Wednesday, amid hot and windy conditions, a bushfire broke out at nearby Longwood. It has been burning out of control ever since.
Authorities have not been able to confirm exactly how many properties have been destroyed in Ruffy, a community of 164 people, but it is feared it could be dozens.
Felicity Sloman, the community safety officer for the Ruffy Country Fire Authority, was on a truck at Tarcombe when the fire came through and said it was horrendous.
"It was just one of the worst fires I've been part of," she told the ABC.
"Most
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