General News
13 January, 2026
'We only had buckets': Lockwood's personal account of the Natimuk fire
On the day of the devastating Grass Flat fire, Keith Lockwood was at home in Natimuk with his wife, Sally. He said that while they could see smoke from their home, they were not concerned until they saw what looked like smoke billowing over Mt Arapiles. "It appeared as if the mountain was on fire," Mr Lockwood said.
They soon realised the fire was between them and the mountain and was travelling towards Natimuk.
“Just then, the alert came to evacuate,” he said.
“We filled up the car and ute with what we could grab. I left all the gates open in case trucks had to get through.
“Sally left first, and I was following when I got a call about one of our residents, a 91-year-old who had no way of evacuating, so I diverted to his place."
His granddaughter had tried to reach him from Horsham, but was stopped by the thick smoke.
“Ash was falling on and around us as we collected his medication and a few possessions in preparation to leave," Mr Lockwood said.
"I looked to the west of Natimuk, and it was just darkness, and I could see the fire trucks disappearing into the gloom.
"I said 'We have to get out of here'.”
Mr Lockwood said when he reached the main street, he couldn’t see the Milk Bar on the opposite side of the road because of the heavy blanket of smoke over the town.
They headed to the Horsham Emergency Relief Centre at the Senior Citizens clubrooms and then later to Horsham Town Hall.
“I rang a neighbour of mine, Ben Tempest, and asked him if he was in Horsham,” Mr Lockwood.
“When he told me he was in Natimuk fighting the fire along the back fence of our properties, I asked him about our house."
On learning that his 20-ton wood heap was on fire, the historic straw-thatched barn had already been burnt, and the 60-foot cypress trees by the house were on fire, he decided to find a way back to Natimuk to try to save their home.
However, as he approached Natimuk, the fire and smoke became too intense for him to continue, and he had to turn back.
In doing so, he met people refilling their firefighting units at a nearby property, who offered to help him.
They travelled back to Natimuk together and stayed long enough to help subdue the fire closest to his house until they had to leave to fight the fire elsewhere.
“You see, we only had buckets to fight this fire with," Mr Lockwood said.
"Our water pipes in the garden had burnt. We managed to plug a hole in one pipe with a stick, and this gave us a dribble of water to fill the buckets.
“It was intense for a while there until the Natuimuk CFA unit arrived and took over," he said.
It took another 24 hours before the trees, buildings, and fencing at the Lockwood home were fully extinguished.
The garden, and all outdoor structures, including the historic barn, large wood heap, a pottery shed, orchard, and nursery, were burnt, but the house was saved.
They had another close call when a spark or ember ignited a tree stump on the front lawn, but they were able to extinguish it before it took hold.
Mr Lockwood said the pace and strength of the wind were unbelievable.
The roar of the wind and fire, combined with the heat from the fire around them, was difficult to deal with.
Despite his personal losses, he said he was concerned for the many people who were worse off than they were.
“There are people who have lost their homes and businesses,” he said.
“Many have lost everything.
”I hope there is sufficient mental health support for everyone, as well as the practical support.
“Because there are a lot of people who are in a bad way and need that support.”
The Lockwoods said they were grateful to the CFA and the volunteers who had helped them and the entire community under such horrific conditions.
“Standing here this morning [Sunday], I still can’t believe the house is intact; incredibly, we stopped it,” he said.
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