WATCH: Donald Trump Flinches as Man Rushes Stage at Ohio Rally

Secret Service agents ran to the stage and formed a wall around Donald Trump.

Secret Service rushes to protect Donald Trump as someone attempts to storm stage. pic.twitter.com/MuLIwJOrsO

— Nicholas J.C. Pistor (@nickpistor) March 12, 2016

DAYTON, OH - A man hopped a barricade Saturday and attempted to rush the stage where Donald Trump was addressing a rally in Dayton, Ohio. Secret Service agents tackled him about two seconds into the attempt while four other agents formed a human wall around the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination.

Trump, visibly startled, grabbed the podium for a scary few seconds as some people in the crowd screamed.

“Thank you for the warning," he told the crowd as the man was led away. "I was ready for him, but it’s much easier if the cops do it.”

The man was taken into custody without incident by Secret Service Special Agents and Dayton Police Officers, a Secret Service spokesman said in an email to Patch. The spokesman added that Trump was able to finish delivering his remarks.

In any other campaign, the immediate assumption might be that the man was mentally ill or drunk enough to make an ill-advised attempt to get between Trump and the many cameras trained on him.

This, of course, is not any other campaign. Trump events are now regularly marked by scuffles, sucker punches, screaming and other outbursts that not long ago would have been considered unthinkable at campaign events for presidential candidates.

The incident occurred only hours after Trump decided to cancel a rally in Chicago out of safety concerns. Supporters and protesters there had been squeezed into the area where he was to speak, taunting each other with name calling and profanity, when they were told of the cancelation.

That's when the "rally" began to look more like a scrum, with fists, bottles and threats flying.

Every candidate remaining in the race, Democrats and Republicans alike, blamed Trump for the violence, citing the tone of his campaign, which has centered on name calling, immigrant bashing, discrimination based on religion and demonstrable lies, all to tap into the discontent of less than half of the Republican party.

Ohio's governor, John Kasich, in a tight race with Trump in the state's primaries Tuesday, went after him.

"Donald Trump has created a toxic environment," Kasich told reporters. "And a toxic environment has allowed his supporters and those who sometimes seek confrontation to come together in violence. There is no place for this, there is no place for a national leader to prey on the fears of people who live in our great country."

Rather than defuse the tensions and ask his supporters to let security handle disruptive, but peaceful, protesters, Trump went to his old fallback in his first rally after Chicago, defiantly blaming someone else for his failing, this time supporters of Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders and Sanders himself.

“As is the case virtually every day, Donald Trump is showing the American people that he is a pathological liar," Sanders said in a statement. "Obviously, while I appreciate that we had supporters at Trump’s rally in Chicago, our campaign did not organize the protests.

“What caused the protests at Trump’s rally is a candidate that has promoted hatred and division against Latinos, Muslims, women, and people with disabilities.”

In fact, Trump has stoked anger among those at his rallies.

At a recent event, he told supporters he had heard he would be pelted with tomatoes.

"So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of 'em, would you? Seriously," he said. "Okay? Just knock the hell — I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise. I promise."

Last week, one of his supporters followed his leader's orders, sucker-punching a protester as he was willingly being led from the building.

Never mind that the man had no tomatoes.

In Saturday's incident in Dayton, Trump had just finished ridiculing a protester, telling security to "take him home to mommy," when the man who tried to get at himp made his move.

The man, identified as, Thomas Dimassimo, was charged with disorderly conduct and inducing panic, Chief Mike Etter of the Dayton Airport Police Department told NBC News.

Video from voter Jim Wemplar who witnessed protestor who jumped over barricade to storm Trump on stage escorted out: pic.twitter.com/uZ3fjND1Kp

— Jacqueline Alemany (@JaxAlemany) March 12, 2016

Later, at a rally in Cleveland, he was interrupted several times again. When he could speak, he called Kasich "a baby."

By the time Trump got to Kansas City for his last campaign event of the day, protesters planted in the audience took turns interrupting him and being escorted from the rally.

This time, police did the escorting. "Don't hurt them," he told his supporters. "But these people are terrible for the country."

Image Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr Creative Commons

This report will be updated. 

Valentine's Day 2016: What day does it fall on and who was St Valentine?

Roses are red, violets are blue, here’s our Valentine’s Day guide - especially for you.

Valentine's Day this year falls on a Sunday

So when is Valentine's Day this year?

his year Valentine’s Day - or St Valentine’s Day - falls on Sunday, February 14, just a few days after Chinese New Year.

It’s a day when people show their love and affection for another person – usually in the form of cards, flowers, gifts and messages.

Who was St Valentine?

The details are sketchy. Some say St Valentine was a priest from Rome who lived in the third century AD.

Emperor Claudius II had banned marriages, believing married men made bad soldiers and St Valentine is thought to have arranged marriages in secret. He was jailed and sentenced to death for his crimes.

In jail, St Valentine apparently fell in love with the jailer’s daughter and sent her a love letter signed ‘from your Valentine’ on February 14, the day of his execution, as a goodbye.

Is that really when it all started?

Some people believe the roots of the day stem from the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, dedicated to the god Lupercus. On this day young men would draw the name of a woman from a jar, and they would become a couple for the rest of the festival.

In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine. They would wear the name of the person on their sleeves - hence the expression "to wear your heart on your sleeve".

Incidentally, the X symbol has come to mean a kiss because in medieval times most people couldn't write their names so they signed cards with an X and kissed it.

Over the years, February 14 became more popular and was romanticized by the likes of Chaucer and later Shakespeare.

In 1537, England's King Henry VII officially declared the day St Valentine's Day.

There is so much confusion around who St Valentine was that the Catholic Church stopped liturgical veneration of him in 1969, although his name remains on its list of officially recognized saints.

In parts of Europe lovers give each other St Valentine's keys as romantic gestures and an invitation to unlock the giver's heart.

What's Cupid got to do with it all?

Cupid is just one of the ancient symbols associated with St Valentine’s Day – along with the shape of a heart, doves, and the colours red and pink.

He is usually portrayed as a small winged figure with a bow and arrow which he uses to strike the hearts of people. People who fall in love are said to be ‘struck by Cupid’s arrow’.

Why do some people leave Valentine's cards anonymous?

This trend was started by the Victorians, who thought it was bad luck to sign Valentine's cards with their names.

The Victorians also started the rose-giving trend. They were the favourite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love, and have come to indicate passion and romance.

Nowadays, more than 50 million roses are given for Valentine's Day every year.

When did Valentine's Day become so commercial?

It was during the middle of the 18th century that Valentine's started to take off in England, with lovers sending sweets and cards adorned with flowers, ribbons and images of cupids and birds.

Eventually huge numbers of printed cards replaced hand-written ones. In 1913, Hallmark Cards of Kansas City began mass producing Valentine's cards.

Now about a billion Valentine's Day cards are exchanged every year and it's the second largest seasonal card sending time of the year.

Will you be my anti-Valentine?  Photo: NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images

How is Valentine's Day celebrated around the world?

In parts of Europe lovers give each other St Valentine’s keys as romantic gestures and an invitation to unlock the giver’s heart.

In Finland, Valentine's Day is called Ystävänpäivä, which means Friend's Day and focuses on remembering friends.

However, in Mexico, February 14 is a day of national mourning. In countries like Pakistan, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia celebrating the day can result in severe punishment and is seen by conservative Muslims as un-Islamic.

In Brazil, Valentine's day isn't celebrated in February because it usually falls on or around Brazil Carnival. Instead, Brazil celebrates 'Dia dos Namorados' on June 12.

Brazil's celebration honors Saint Anthony - the patron saint of matchmaking and marriages.

Pakistani leg-spinner Yasir Shah provisionally suspended after failed drugs test

Yasir has taken 76 Test wickets and 18 in one-day internationals

Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah has been provisionally suspended after failing a drugs test.

Yasir, 29, tested positive for banned substance chlortalidone following the second one-day international against England in Abu Dhabi last month.

He has been provisionally suspended by governing body the International Cricket Council (ICC) "pending the outcome of the disciplinary process".

Earlier this month, Yasir was named in the ICC's Test team of the year.

He bowled nine overs on the day of his failed test, taking 0-70 as England won by 95 runs.

Since making his international debut in 2011, Yasir has played in 12 Tests and 15 one-day internationals.

He took 12 wickets as Pakistan beat Australia 2-0 in a Test series last year, and doubled that tally in a 2-1 win over Sri Lanka this year.

5 Things to Look For With ISIS in 2016

These key clues may indicate whether the Islamic State group can continue its reign of fear.

Iraqi Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilisation units, fighting alongside Iraqi government forces, display an upside down Islamic State group during a military operation aimed at the centre of Baiji, north of Baghdad on Oct. 19. 

From the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris the first week of January to the San Bernardino shootings in December, the kind of self-inspired, small-scale brutality the Sunni Muslim Islamic State group has seeped into the cracks left by a Western security apparatus hardened around preventing a 9/11-style massive attack.

Now intelligence agencies scramble to adapt to a more nimble and unorthodox extremist movement that nobody could have predicted would have become so effective at sowing violence and fear from the Iraq-Syria border to the outskirts of Los Angeles. “2015 was a year of transition in the nature of the ISIL threat,” as one analyst observed, using an alternative name for the Islamic State group.

No longer do those in Washington refer to the group and its far-flung band of sympathizers as the “JV” team, as President Barack Obama once famously did.

A new year beckons, with the  Syrian civil war entering its sixth bloody year, the Iraqi government needing to  prove it can protect all of its people, not just the Shiites, and Muslims worldwide coming under greater scrutiny by a fearful public, all of which hinge in part on the future of the Islamic State group.

Here are the five key points Western observers and policymakers will be considering as they monitor the terrorist network in 2016:

Smoke billows from the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, Mosul province, during an operation by Iraqi Kurdish forces backed by US-led strikes on Nov. 12, to retake the town from the Islamic State group and cut a key supply line to Syria.

Retaking Territory, and Governing It

The Islamic State group has proven frustratingly adept at lingering in areas it once held. It repeatedly attacked the key oil hub at Beiji, Iraq, in the summer of 2014, losing and retaking territory in protracted skirmishes with government forces. Fighting continues there, requiring strikes from U.S.-led coalition aircraft as recently as late December.

Even before it seized Mosul last summer, the Islamic State was able to infiltrate its criminal and black market networks and begin undermining the local government. That connective tissue reportedly remains in places like Sinjar, which were formally cleared of Islamic State group control by Kurdish forces in November.

In late December, the Iraqi security forces began their siege to chase Islamic State group fighters out of the city of Ramadi. Even if they are successful, however, the real success will lie in whether Baghdad can convince the citizens of this largely Sunni Muslim area that it can serve them as a trustworthy federal government. Otherwise, the Islamic State group will continue to capitalize on Sunni dissent toward a government they see as dominated by the Iraqi Shiite majority and influenced by fellow Shiites in neighboring Iran.

“Their thinking allows them to cede territory sometimes, even while utilising delaying tactics that maximize casualties on the other side,” says Firas Abi Ali, London-based senior manager of violent risk analysis with IHS. “This comes from a realization they will always be outnumbered by their rivals, and they seem to plan accordingly.”

"That lets them lose territory because they think they can regain it."

In Sinjar, reports emerged that the Yazidis who had been targeted by the Islamic State group as heathens had subsequently began executing Sunnis in an act of retaliation. Similar concerns abound regarding the highly effective Shiite militias partnering with government troops, known as popular mobilization forces, and whether they will exact similar violence on Sunnis after clearing extremists out.

That kind of uncontrolled retaliation will only drive Sunnis back toward extremist forces like the Islamic State group or whatever replaces them if the Iraqi government doesn’t focus its attention on establishing the rule of law after the fighting ceases.

Members of forces loyal to Libya's Islamist-backed parliament General National Congress prepare to launch attacks as they fight Islamic State group jihadists on the outskirts of Libya's western city of Sirte on March 16.

Expanding to Libya, a "Plan B"

Multiple terrorist organizations around the globe have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, from Boko Haram in Nigeria to the Taliban in Afghanistan. But the only place military officials believe the Islamic State group has direct connection beyond its symbolic homeland in Iraq and Syria is Libya, with its eyes on even shinier prizes nearby.

“That’s where the biggest connection has been, in Libya, because of the chaos there and the government challenges,” U.S. Africa Command’s Gen. David Rodriguez told reporters in late November. Civil unrest throughout Libya since the 2011 NATO mission that ousted despot Muammar Gadhafi has created the kind of environment in which the Islamic State group can thrive and, as the Army general observed, allow Islamic State group operatives and resources to slip back and forth between North Africa and the Middle East.

The Islamic State group prioritizes Libya and its chaotic smokescreen because of its geographic position at the apex of all major smuggling routes in Africa, providing it with an alternative flow of resources as Western agencies try to choke off it off in Iraq and Syria. Libya also serves as a potential staging ground for attacks on Europe, and for strengthening the Islamic State group’s presence in volatile Tunisia, from which thousands of fighters have joined its extremist movement. It’s also a pathway to Egypt, where an established Islamic State group presence among existing extremists in the Sinai would be a great win for the terrorist network.

Still, leaders of the Islamic State group inspire their following by a perversion of Islamic history, centered around Raqqa and the city of Dabiq, where they believe an apocalyptic battle between Islam and the West will take place.

“They can’t just roll up shop and flee to Libya. That totally undercuts their credibility and their claims,” says Scott Stewart, vice president of tactical analysis for Texas-based security firm Stratfor.

A foothold in Libya could only bolster the Islamic State group’s existing presence in Syria and Iraq to maintain that premise, not replace it, or serve as a “Plan B” if some leaders need to flee to relative safely.

Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters standing on a berm watch the landing of a small surveillance drone flown by a French volunteer near the town of Daquq, north of Baghdad, on Dec. 7.

Finding Unity in the War, and Choking Off the Extremists

One of the largest obstacles to victory against the Islamic State group in Syria is the country’s  porous border with Turkey, and convincing Ankara to become more involved in the fight. Kurdish fighters from groups like the peshmerga in Iraq or the YPG in Syria have proven themselves the most capable fighting force for retaking ground from the Islamic State group. But the Turks have a wary view of the Kurds, particularly those it believes are aligned with groups it considers terrorist organizations at home.

Finding some sort of unity between the two, and assurances that empowering the Kurds would not necessarily lead to their attempting to form a breakaway state, is key to closing off the Islamic State group’s borders and rallying those who must help destroy it.

Another major obstacle lies in the Sunni populations throughout Iraq and Syria. The Islamic State group, which evolved from al-Qaida in Iraq, was largely able to seize and hold territory during its initial onslaught last summer due to support, or at least complicity, from the Sunni populations in the areas they now control. The brutal rule of Syrian President Bashar Assad and the U.S.-backed government in Iraq under then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki gave high preference to the Shiite Muslim populations, and, in the case of Iraq, reneged on promises made for equality in government that secured the so-called “Sunni Awakening” during the last Iraq war and united the country against al-Qaida.

Until the Sunni populations in these regions believe the West has a vested interest in their security, and that they will ensure inclusion at the top levels of government, the Islamic State group will never be defeated, or another like-minded insurgent group will pop up in its place.

That work remains a gargantuan effort, particularly amid a new poll that shows a majority of people living throughout Iraq and Syria believe the U.S. literally created the Islamic State group. A glimmer of hope emerged through the U.N. Security Council resolution in late December that plots a path to peace in Syria – albeit an unspecific one.

“That doesn’t change what’s happening on the ground,” IHS’ Ali says. “Regional Sunni forces will likely stall in the hope a future U.S. president will support them more.”

Fabio Ahumada and Christina Lynn, San Bernardino EMTs, attend a vigil on Dec. 3 at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino, Calif., after two shooters killed 14 and wounded around 20 others at a social services center the day before. 

A Coordinated Attack on the U.S.

The U.S. has so far been spared from an attack on the U.S. coordinated by the Islamic State group headquarters in Syria, as authorities suspect happened with the shooting in Paris in November. The attacks in San Bernardino, California, were carried out by a married couple who were reportedly inspired by the Islamic State group. But investigators currently do not believe there was any direct connection either through planning or sharing of resources.

“I believe we’re going to continue to see more attempts and more attacks by grassroots-type jihadis, whether they are returnees or whether they are more the people who are not directed but influenced by the Islamic State group and al-Qaida,” says Stratfor’s Stewart.

It would be a major leap, particularly in public perception, if an attack arose that was orchestrated by terrorist masterminds overseas, and undercutting what has become the chief focus of American intelligence agencies since the 9/11 attacks.

Yet those limited-scale attacks with a loose connection to the Islamic State group may be enough for them to maintain their version of success. Its brand of diffused leadership makes the group less vulnerable to the kind of “decapitation strategy” the U.S. has employed against al-Qaida.

“It may imply they can’t pull off a 9/11,” says Michael O’Hanlon with the Brookings Institution. “But if they can do a lot of Parises and San Bernardinos, arguably they don’t need to pull off another 9/11, if their main goal is to keep the world on edge.”

“In radical terms, I’m not sure what their goal can ever be. Even if they keep killing us now and then, it’s hard to see that that accomplishes anything and it certainly won’t lead to the end of Western civilization.”

Kashmiri demonstrators hold up a flag of the Islamic State group during a demonstration against Israeli military operations in Gaza, in downtown Srinagar on July 18, 2014.

Shutting the Islamic State Group’s Mouth

One of the extremist network’s greatest successes has been its use of propaganda, both to control those under its rule but even more potently to recruit disenfranchised young people from overseas, who continue to flock to its homeland.

Western security agencies remain befuddled how affluent young people see something in the slick messaging the Islamic State group puts forth, and its elusive use of social media as a way to directly connect with potential recruits.

The solution, however, cannot come from the U.S., as that would be too easily dismissed by extremist leaders who see America as the living symbol of everything they oppose. Instead, finding a solution must come from one of the other greatest holes in the anti-Islamic State group strategy, which is greater support from Muslim nations like Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

These nations have long been the recipients of U.S. military aid and support, and touted by President Barack Obama as evidence of the potency of the coalition he leads, even though the U.S. and its European partners carry out almost all of the military strikes. But questions among their top leadership of U.S. priorities, and the extent to which America is  willing to go in the Middle East, has resigned them to focusing on their own internal problems, such as the refugee crisis spilling into Jordan or Saudi Arabia’s war in neighboring Yemen.

But, perhaps merely exposing the reality of life under the Islamic State group is the most potent form of counter-propaganda.

Reports have emerged from Iraq saying the Islamic State group has begun to ban access to satellite broadcasts for those under its control.

“We're starting to see a change in their behavior that may be related to some desperation,” Army Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition, told reporters Tuesday from his Baghdad headquarters. “They appear to be trying to hide information regarding the recent string of defeats as we continue to kill their leaders, to increase the security capacity of our regional partners and to strike them across the battlefield and all of their formation. It seems like they're beginning to feel the pressure.”

Great Ocean Road fires: How a bushfire burnt Christmas Day

The bushfire rages at Wye River. Picture: Keith Pakenham/AAP

IT STARTED with a bolt from the sky. As the mercury soared beyond 40C last Saturday, thunderstorms raged over the Great Otway National Park.

Jolts of lightning battered the area, including a single strike on the Jamieson Track — about 8km west of Lorne — that sparked a bushfire.

Initially, the flames did not spread too far. By Christmas Eve, the fire had razed just 250ha of forest, a small area compared to many bushfires.

But the hilly terrain was proving to be a nightmare for firefighters.

They called in waterbombing aircraft to help as they watched the weather forecasts and worried about the winds picking up.

By Christmas morning, their worst fears were realised.

Families enjoy Christmas on the beach at Skenes Creek, south west of the blaze. Picture: Mitch Bear

Embers started spotting beyond containment lines, and within minutes the bushfire had turned into Victoria’s most destructive blaze since Black Saturday.

Fire authorities made the call to evacuate Wye River and Separation Creek at midday.

Just as holidaymakers and permanent residents were taking their turkeys out of the oven, police started knocking on their doors with dire warnings. An evacuation plan had been in the works for several days, but once it was put into action, there was no time to waste, lunch or not.

Tom Jacobs was one of those to quickly jump into his car and head for safety.

“We were about to have lunch and then we saw smoke behind the property,” Mr Jacobs said.

“It kept on coming up bigger and bigger, and then it turned into a war zone with four choppers bombing directly overheard.

“It had all been perfectly fine and then it went dark and it was like volcano skies.”

The fire spread rapidly on Christmas Day.

He made several videos on the road out of Separation Creek, posting them on Twitter on Friday afternoon.

The spectacular beachside town was blanketed in a huge cloud of thick black smoke and surrounded by intense flames.

Mr Jacobs later shared videos of the desperate waterbombing mission to save the towns, and at 10.30pm he found out that his home was still standing.

Dozens of others were not so lucky.

A home destroyed by fire on Riverside Drive in Wye River. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

While weekend visitors sped home to Melbourne, those who live in Wye River and Separation Creek took shelter at relief centres in Apollo Bay and Torquay.

Instead of Christmas leftovers, they tucked into pizza and water for dinner. They slept in beds provided by the Salvation Army.

And when they woke up on Boxing Day, they wondered if they would ever see their homes again.

Craig Lapsley says Wye River is a beautiful beachside getaway, and he is not alone in that opinion. But the Emergency Management Commissioner’s visit to it on Christmas Eve was strictly business.

“I was briefed by the captain of the fire brigade about exactly what the fire would do,” Mr Lapsley said. “It was a matter of which day it was going to do it.”

The bushfire at Wye River. Picture: Tina Garrett

Christmas Day was clearly going to be hot. But while total fire bans were in place, Mr Lapsley said the fire danger did not appear to be extreme, and he was happy with the control work done by firefighters.

“However, they said it will all be about wind,” Mr Lapsley recalled.

“It’ll be about wind that picks up a fire, picks up an ember and puts it over the control lines ... That actually happened on Friday.

“It was a little bit premature in the sense that we expected it not to be on a day that it was 32C with wind speeds of 40, 50, 60km/h. We thought it would have been a day of 40+C with 80, 90, 100km/h winds. But it happened.”

The bushfire engulfs Wye River. Picture: Tina Garrett

By 9am, the temperature had already topped 27C and northerly winds reached 33km/h.

Spot fires started beyond the containment lines and the bushfire blew wildly out of hand. By Christmas night, the CFA said the blaze was so powerful that it was creating its own weather conditions.

Fire authorities now believe it’s a bushfire that could still be burning in February.

While fires have ravaged the Otway Ranges before — particularly on Ash Wednesday — Wye River had escaped unscathed for decades.

Mr Lapsley said the only significant fires that impacted the township were in 1939 and 1962.

Now 2015 has been added to the history books.

We lost everything

Lesley Maly with her dog, Occy. Picture: Mitch Bear

BUILDING records show there are 334 homes in Wye River and Separation Creek.

But only 80 properties are permanent households and one of them belonged to the Maly family.

Tony Maly built his Durumbil Ave home with his father in 1957. The family used the property as a holiday getaway for decades until he and wife Lesley moved in permanently two years ago.

They were set to enjoy Christmas lunch together this year with their pet dog Occy and cat Muppet.

But Mr Maly is a CFA volunteer. And like so many others, he gave up his Christmas Day to fight the fire on the front line.

Little did he know that he would watch the home he built from scratch go up in flames.

“We’ve lost everything,” Mrs Maly said. “I walked out with about five items of clothing, my wedding rings, phone and chargers — everything else is gone.

“I had just put the turkey in the oven when we were told to evacuate. It was surreal ... I was walking down the driveway just thinking, this could be the last time I see my house.”

Lesley Maly with dog Occy. Picture: Mitch Bear

Her husband made the “gut-wrenching” phone call yesterday morning to tell his wife the fate of their home.

Occy escaped with Mrs Maly but Muppet was lost. Priceless sentimental items, including the couple’s wedding photos, could not be salvaged.

In nearby Karingal Dr, the road that runs along the top of the hill above Wye River, at least another dozen homes were destroyed.

The Sunday Herald Sun visited yesterday as firefighters continued to extinguish spot fires in the smouldering street.

Burnt gum trees and branches were still falling, sending loud cracks echoing through the deserted streets. Broken power lines littered the roads and ash embers flew through the air.

A house behind Wye River destroyed on Christmas Day. Picture: Mitch Bear

A koala lay dead at the foot of one driveway after the tree it was hiding in caught alight and crashed to the ground.

Such was the sheer intensity of the heat that it was hard to see anything beyond twisted iron roofing and collapsed brickwork in the devastated properties.

Residents had fled in a hurry but it wasn’t hard to imagine what they had left behind.

Children’s toys melted into an unrecognizable mess before they were even unwrapped.

A destroyed house at Separation Creek. Picture: David Crosling

Hams scorched before they were carved. Bonbons burnt before families could crack them and swap jokes.

Three Metropolitan Fire Brigade crews roamed the area yesterday, fulfilling the demoralising duty of assessing which homes had withstood the carnage.

By late yesterday, Mr Lapsley confirmed at least 116 homes destroyed — 98 properties had been destroyed at Wye River and 18 at Separation Creek.

The Insurance Council of Victoria declared the Great Ocean Rd fire to be a catastrophe and said it anticipated claims of more than $25 million.

People fled to a relief centre in Apollo Bay. Picture: Julian Smith/AAP

But as the extent of the damage emerged, authorities confirmed that no lives had been lost and just three firefighters injured.

In the face of such destruction, it was cause for celebration.

“We always say primacy of life is the critical issue in the state,” Mr Lapsley said.

“They’ve walked away from a fire that had every potential to be a killer. That’s success.”

Premier Daniel Andrews expressed similar sentiments when he met with locals at the Apollo Bay relief centre.

“We’ve had no loss of life,” Mr Andrews said. “That’s something that we can be very proud of. We can rebuild houses, of course, but things can be much worse than that.”

A woman tends to horses as children sleep on fold-out beds in the main street of Lorne. Picture: Julian Smith/AAP

FOR much of Christmas Day, it looked like the bushfire was going to burn all the way to Lorne.

A haunting emergency siren rang out on the deserted foreshore as those who had packed the popular town raced to safety.

Those emergency warnings were lifted on Boxing Day when heavy rain gave firefighters the boost they needed, slowing the flames.

The moment the skies opened brought relief — but Mr Lapsley warned it would only be temporary.

“This fire doesn’t go away,” Mr Lapsley said. “This fire is a fire that will remain with potential to burn in January and February.

The Great Ocean Road between Rye and Kennett rivers. Picture: Mitch Bear

“The forecast for a long, hot, dry summer is there. The fact that we’ve had rain today across the state will not dramatically change anything. It’ll be a short-term relief for fire conditions.”

Fire authorities met with the concerned organisers of the popular Falls Festival yesterday as they sought to decide if the popular music event should go ahead in Erskine Falls above Lorne. A decision was due last evening.

The mercury is expected to soar beyond 30C again on New Year’s Eve but early forecasts suggest there won’t be strong winds to cause another extreme fire day.

Thousands of other Victorians weighed up their holiday travel plans to the surf coast as Mr Lapsley asked for care and caution.

Craig Lapsley with Premier Daniel Andrews and Bushfire Response Minister Jane Garrett at the State Control Centre. Picture: Mike Keating.

“Everything is available to burn and that will be the critical period,” he said.

“Don’t underestimate what that means for Victoria on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

“We have fire in the landscape that will not be extinguished in its totality and on the wrong day with the wrong conditions it will impact on other communities.”

Incident controller Alistair Drayton also preached caution at a community meeting in Torquay, but he encouraged holidaymakers not to abandon the area.

“Lorne is open for business,” Mr Drayton said. “It’s summer, it’s tourism. We’re very conscious of trying to reinstate Lorne as quickly as we could.”

Firefighters in Karingal Driver, Wye River. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

YOU can’t mistake the smells of Christmas Day.

There’s the memorable scent of pine that fills your nostrils as your family tears open presents around the tree.

There’s aroma of the turkey when you take it out of the oven. The mouth-watering pudding that you can’t resist, no matter how many second helpings you had during main course.

But for thousands of Victorians, this year’s Christmas will be remembered by the acrid smell of smoke.

Where there was smoke, there was fire.

And where there was fire, there was a 2200ha path of devastation that will forever scar the picturesque Great Ocean Rd coastline.

tom.minear@news.com.au