A SIXTY per cent loss in trade – that’s the estimated financial cost to Mansfield businesses following the State of Disaster declaration by the State Government in the face of the bushfire emergency.

With tourists evacuated from peak camping areas, and many more choosing to to stay away, the town has been left empty of its normally bustling summer trade.

From the supermarkets to cafés, tourism operators to accommodation businesses; all have been left with cancelled bookings, surplus stock and – in some cases – no word as to when they will be able to begin trading again.