Residents left ‘heartbroken’ after Black Saturday plaque stolen from forest in Victoria

A commemorative plaque marking the devastating impact the Black Saturday bushfires had on a central Victorian community has been stolen.

The hand-crafted plaque was taken sometime this month from a heavily forested and isolated area of Reedy Creek.

Mitchell Shire mayor Sue Marstaeller says stealing the plaque would have required a "major effort" involving at least two people, tools and a four-wheel drive.

"Somebody has had to know it was there and gone with tools to cut it off the concrete plinth it was bolted to," Ms Marstaeller said today.

"It means nothing to anyone else and yet it is invaluable to the community that it has been taken from, they are devastated."

The theft has had an impact beyond the Mitchell Shire with Black Saturday victims as far away as Traralgon left heartbroken.

"I lost my home in Gippsland on Black Saturday and am amazed that this post made me cry," Jo Jablonski posted to Facebook.

The plaque - which was cast a few years after the 2009 Black Saturday fires - cost the council $3000.

The council is not sure whether the original cast still exists and fears the plaque may be irreplaceable.

Ms Marstaeller said "no questions will be asked" if the plaque is returned or placed outside the council offices.

With AAP