Air quality alert issued as Otways bushfire grows
A haze of smoke shrouded Melbourne on Sunday morning as a fire in the Otway Ranges grew overnight, triggering an emergency alert as it moved towards a small town.
The Carlisle River fire is located within a kilometer of Gellibrand, 57 kilometers northwest of Apollo Bay, after expanding to nearly 8,000 hectares on Saturday night, breaching containment lines amid scorching heat on Saturday.
The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting Melbourne will reach maximum temperatures of 25 degrees on Sunday, giving it a respite before extreme temperatures return on Tuesday.
An air quality notice has been issued for Greater Melbourne and Geelong as winds push Otway fire smoke into central Victoria, but the Environmental Protection Agency is still evaluated the air quality At the fair in Spotswood early Sunday.
The updated emergency alert for the Carlisle River fire, issued at 5.19am, said the fire was pushing east towards Gellibrand, which has a population of 230.
The warning “Take shelter immediately” said, “The fire grew overnight and is now one kilometer away from Gellibrand.” “This fire could impact homes and lives in Gellibrand.”
A total fire ban remains active today for the North Country, North Central, North East and Gippsland fire zones.
Fire Chief Chris Hardman on Friday described the Dargo and Walwa fires in the state’s High Country region as particularly concerning amid the current heat wave.
“We have active fire behavior on the Mount Lawson fire, Walwa. The wind shift is not going to get to that fire, so that’s going to put a lot of pressure on the southern edge of the fire and we expect the fire to move over the next few days,” he said.
“There is also a fire around Dargo in Wonnangatta district… the activity of this fire is now starting to increase. It is not moving at the moment but it is something to watch.”
More than 1,000 structures, including 289 homes, have been damaged in bushfires in Victoria so far this summer.
The Longwood fire devastated parts of central Victoria earlier this month but is now under control.
In the west of the state, Mildura, Nhill, Hopetoun and Horsham reached 42 degrees on Saturday.
The Australian Open was briefly suspended after temperatures reached 38.1 degrees at Melbourne Park and Mount Gellibrand near the Otways fire area reached 38.6 degrees.
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