The ‘whole state is still a tinderbox’ as Victoria braces for extreme fire conditions
Updated ,first published
An out-of-control bushfire is threatening lives in three central Victoria towns as emergency services warn people to be alert for extreme fire danger across the state.
Residents of Kerrisdale, Tallarook and Trawool, about 15 kilometers south of Seymour, are being urged to seek shelter from the fire immediately as it is too late to evacuate.
The warning at 13.08 said, “You are in danger and you need to take action immediately to survive.” “The safest option is to take shelter inside immediately. It’s too late to go out.”
The blaze broke out on a day of extreme fire danger for much of Victoria, with temperatures expected to reach the mid-thirties in towns across the state.
Melbourne and Mildura will reach 37 degrees, while Seymour, Bendigo and Wangaratta will reach 35 degrees, Geelong and Bairnsdale will reach 36 degrees and Ballarat will reach 32 degrees.
The heat, combined with dry air, winds of up to 60 kilometers per hour and the risk of storms in central and western regions, led emergency services to warn on Monday that fighting a fire would be difficult if it broke out.
“Concerns will largely be for the western parts of the state, particularly west south Gippsland where we still have a lot of grassland fire burden across our landscape,” Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch said in an update Monday afternoon.
“The whole state is still an ash bin in terms of the types of fuels available and so the concerns around the metropolitan area in particular will be in the north-west suburbs, on the roads from the paddocks to Geelong.”
A total fire ban has been declared for the Central (including Melbourne, Geelong and Ballarat), North Central, Southwest, West and South Gippsland and Wimmera fire districts; This means no outdoor fires can be lit or allowed to remain open on February 17.
Extreme fire danger is expected in each of these areas, as well as in north-east Victoria.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Morgan Pumpa said a cool change would not reach Melbourne until the afternoon or evening as a wind shift from the south-west pushed ocean breeze across Victoria.
“We’ll see some cooler air out east… For the most part, everyone should expect the winds to be warm and dry,” Pumpa said.
Pumpa said storms were possible across a wide swath of Victoria, from Echuca-Moama to Baw Baw Mountain and Traralgon.
Parts of the state haven’t had significant rain in weeks, leaving plenty of dry fuel behind despite major fires this season.
“We are seeing very dry fuels across much of the state, and when combined with low humidity, fires can start easily and spread quickly,” said Jason Heffernan, Chief Officer for the Country Fire Authority.
“Days like these [Tuesday] It’s about prevention. “The safest choice would be to postpone machine-related activities and adapt to changing conditions.”
Speaking on 3AW radio on Tuesday morning, Heffernan said firefighters were hopeful of some rain on Tuesday but the long-term forecast was bleak.
“So we could see a dry autumn and the beginning of winter,” he said.
The expected temperature increase also led V/Line to impose extreme heat tariffs on Tuesday.
On the Ararat, Ballarat, Geelong, Maryborough, Seymour, Shepparton and Warrnambool lines, trains that usually reach speeds of 160 km/h must slow down to 90 km/h or less because the steel rails expand in the heat.
The predicted dangerous weather follows January, when fires burned more than 400,000 hectares in Victoria.
One person died and nearly 1,600 structures were damaged or destroyed after the fires, which started in the first week of the year and worsened when extreme heat peaked on January 9.
Later that month, a major bushfire flared in the Otways, prompting further evacuations and further property loss.
While Wiebusch said on Monday he hoped the Otways fire would be under control next week, two major fires at Longwood and Walwa were only brought under control last Friday, six weeks after they started.
A strong south-westerly wind and light rain are forecast for parts of Victoria on Tuesday afternoon.
from AAP
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Angus Delaney is a reporter for The Age. Email him at angus.delaney@theage.com.au or contact him securely on Signal at angusdelaney.31.Connect via email.
