Christmas no holiday for worn-out firefighters as Gippsland residents on high alert
Exhausted firefighters in Victoria, NSW and South Australia are still battling fires while East Gippsland residents remain on high alert. Air quality in Melbourne’s CBD dropped on Christmas morning as a smoke and dust haze returned.
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Firefighters gave up their Christmas to try to get the upper hand on blazes in three states.
In Victoria, warnings were still in place for several towns in East Gippsland as firefighters continued to battle blazes last night.
Fires in forested areas close to Ensay, Brookville and the Snowy River National Park were still not under control.
Firefighters were working on control lines and back burning to increase protection for houses in the area.
Favourable conditions allowed firefighters to strengthen containment lines at the fire 6km east of Ensay. Bulldozers were also on hand to help.
Aircraft were used to waterbomb a fire in the Jacksons Crossing area to slow the spread of a blaze moving towards Snowy River National Park.
Smoke from the bushfires in the state’s east made for hazy conditions across Victoria on Christmas Day, particularly in the Gippsland area.
Air quality in Melbourne’s CBD had dropped from good to moderate by late Christmas morning, with “smoky and dusty” conditions reported.
Melburnians were treated to a warm, sunny Christmas Day with the city reaching 27C before cooling down for the Boxing Day Test. But a cloudy morning and slight drizzle was unlikely to affect the cricket with a top of 21C expected, weather bureau forecaster Michael Efron said.
Temperatures are set to rise again across the state with Sunday expected to reach 28C in the city and soar past 40C in Victoria’s north.
Monday will see a fire “spike day” with the mercury to soar before a sudden cool change sweeps through and temperatures drop down to 23C for a mild New Year’s Eve on Tuesday.
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In New South Wales, almost 2000 firefighters worked through Christmas Day to take advantage of cooler conditions in their battle against 79 blazes.
Damage assessment figures released by the NSW Rural Fire Service revealed 829 homes had been destroyed and 333 damaged by bushfires this season.
In South Australia, a watch and act remained in place for the Adelaide Hills on Wednesday.
Fires in the area have destroyed 84 homes and ripped through more than 25,000ha, as well as claiming one life.