Australia heatwave live updates: Victoria declares state of disaster in multiple areas as bushfires rage; temperatures to reach 43C in Sydney | Bushfires

Victorian premier Jacinta Allan The state has declared a state of disaster in 18 local government areas as it battles a mounting bushfire crisis that has destroyed at least 10 homes, prompted evacuations and razed more than 50,000 hectares of forest, Australia’s Associated Press reported.

He said the overnight declaration was made in response to the danger to life and property in the affected areas and “sends a clear message to those who have been advised to leave: If you can, you should.”

In a post on X, he said the decision gives agencies more authority to fight fires.

Tonight, I declared a State of Disaster, giving our authorities additional powers to confront an emergency of extraordinary scale and danger. It’s all about one thing: preserving Victorian lives. And it sends a clear message: If you’re told to go, go.

Three people remained missing as dozens of fires burned Friday amid a severe heat wave that state officials described as the worst wildfires since the 2019-2020 black summer fires.

The names of the missing people, two adults and a child, have not been released after a fire destroyed their home in the town of Longwood, about 50 kilometers north of Melbourne, on Thursday, authorities said.

In the nearby town of Ruffy, property including a school was lost to fire and a local firefighter was hospitalized with third-degree burns to his hands.

About 230 kilometers to the east, a separate fire near the border town of Walwa destroyed a pine tree plantation.

The massive Longwood fire has burned more than 35,000 hectares, while the fire near Walwa has burned more than 17,000 hectares.

Both fires, some of the state’s fiercest, were expected to burn uncontrolled for weeks despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters working on the field.