‘Leave now’: Fire threatens dozens of Victorian towns, thousands without power
Homes in more than a dozen additional towns in the state’s west are under threat as bushfires continue to burn out of control in the area between Beaufort and Avoca.
Victoria
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Homes in more than a dozen additional towns are under threat after a wind change steered a raging bushfire further north, prompting warnings to evacuate immediately.
Those living in Amphitheatre, Elmhurst, Eversley, Glenlofty, Glenlogie, Glenpatrick, Glenshee, Green Hill Creek, Landsborough, Mount Cole, Mount Lonarch, Nowhere Creek, Percydale and Warrenmang were urged to leave their properties Friday morning after a bushfire started between Mount Cole and Raglan.
The fire, which started near Bayindeen Rock Rd, is now moving in a north easterly direction towards Avoca after a wind change.
Relief centres are open at the CE Brown reserve, the Lake Wendouree Football Club and Alexander Oval at Ararat.
Another relief centre has also been established at Princes Park in Maryborough.
The fire has forced several road closures in the area, including the Western Hwy at the intersection of the highway and Sunraysia Hwy.
Skipton Rd is closed between Skipton and Beaufort, Beaufort Lexton Rd is closed between Beaufort and Lexton.
Crews on Friday morning were still battling the blaze that started on Bayindeen Rocky Rd which has not yet been brought under control.
Further evacuation orders have been issued for residents in: Bayindeen, Ben Nevis, Brewster, Buangor, Buangor East, Chute, Ercildoune, Eurambeen, Eversley, Glenbrae, Glenlogie, Langi Kal Kal, Main Lead, Middle Creek, Mount Cole, Mount Cole Creek, Mount Lonarch, Trawalla, Warrak and Waterloo.
V/Line services on the Ararat Line between Ararat and Wendouree will remain suspended on Friday.
Some slept rough at Wendouree on Thursday night, preferring to stay with their pets in the car park of CE Brown Reserve than leave them alone or with a menagerie of other animals accompanying relief seekers.
But with the temperature now about 13C in Wendouree, the issue of heat has diminished as people to wake up for a coffee and stroll around.
Ron and Francis from Lexton left their hometown about 8pm last night.
They were told Raglan was “gone” with Beaufort-Lexton Rd blocked off.
“We won’t be able to get back,” Ron said.
He said his night was “shocking”.
“Sleeping in the car. We’ve got the animals.
“I’ve got a dog and the dog’s used to me all the time. She’s only a pup.”
Ron said he had hoped to return home this morning, but understood Black Bottom Rd, where he lived, was also inaccessible.
“Even the people from Beaufort it’s a waiting game. We just don’t know,” he said.
Sharon Lockyer from Beaufort stayed at the relief centre overnight.
She came out in the morning to greet her two cats and bird.
“Last night I had my son at the hospital – he had severe anxiety,” Ms Lockyer said.
“The main thing I was worried about was dad, because he’s up there and he’s 85 years old and an ex-firey. My husband’s a firey … he’s going out again this morning, so I’m hoping it goes under control.”
Ms Lockyer said it was somewhat difficult to sleep for the snoring, but everybody at the relief centre had been “marvellous”.
She said she hoped not to have to spend another night, but had heard some houses had been lost around Beaufort.
Bob Bramwell from Beaufort camped at the Wendouree relief centre with his dogs Alfie, Jacks, and Lilly.
“I understand yesterday there was nearly a fire truck at every house,” he said.
“When we were leaving there were 10 or 15 trucks at a time going past. The whole state was looking after us.”
The Bramwells said they had time to salvage a few possessions.
“You don’t realise it, when the house goes down it isn’t just the house, it’s all the memories and photographs and everything else that’s inside the house that hurt,” he said.
“I’m a bit numb by it because it’s never been this close to me before.
“I think, touch wood, we may have got away with it, but it’s still a bit nerve-wracking.”
Mr Bramwell said the way everybody lent a hand put on full display the “generosity of the Australian people”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese thanked the “brave” firefighters in Victoria’s west on Friday morning.
“Our hearts are with everyone facing the fires,” Mr Albanese said in a statement.
“In this dangerous and difficult time, all Australians are thinking of those working bravely to save lives and homes.”
EARLIER — Evacuation order issued for Lexton
Almost 300 residents of Lexton, just north of Beaufort, were urged to evacuate amid a forecasted wind change which is now sending the forefront toward their homes.
Dozens more communities have been issued a ‘Watch and Act’ warning as of 8.30pm, Thursday, with authorities upgrading the alert and instead urging residents to leave now.
The new alert confirmed the expected wind change had shifted the forefront in a northeast direction, offering some relief to Beaufort locals whose community was threatened by the inferno much of Thursday.
Premier Jacinta Allan urged residents to “stay safe” overnight in a post to social media.
“The wind change we expected has happened – putting communities to the north and east of Beaufort on high alert,” she said.
“If you’re in these areas, the safest thing you can do is leave.”
Closer to the city, wet weather delivered a much-needed dip in temperatures with the mercury falling from almost 36C down to 25 by 6pm.
More than 1000 firefighters are battling the bushfire in the state’s west, with authorities warning the fire danger will worsen before it gets better.
It comes as thousands of customers were cut off from power, schools were closed and transport was disrupted as extreme weather sweeps across the state.
Strike teams of fireys from Melbourne on Thursday evening were preparing to head into the battle ground, as residents in several communities near Beaufort were ordered to evacuate immediately.
Other nearby towns have been warned they could be caught up in the fire threat on Thursday night.
Authorities said it was still too early to determine how many homes or businesses had been affected.
Delivering an emergency update from the State Control Centre on Thursday evening, Premier Jacinta Allan warned the situation would get worse before it got better.
“We have a large and active fire that is moving very, very quickly,” she said.
“It’s going to continue to be a difficult few hours ahead.
“Of grave concern is the large fire that is out-of-control moving in an easterly direction around the Beaufort area.
“Leaving immediately is the safest option for those communities. If you are located in these areas, please heed this advice. Please act now to save your own life.”
Bushfire - Emergency Warning for Rocky Rd, Warrak. You should Leave Now. For more info: https://t.co/XUbIAHafYB#vicfires
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) February 22, 2024
CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan said a wind change on Thursday night would turn one part of the fire into the main fire and place more communities under threat.
“The fire situation will get worse before it gets better,” he said.
More strike teams from metropolitan Melbourne were making their way to the Beaufort, Raglan and Lexton areas on Thursday night.
“There’s a lot more time to go. This fire will travel further and spread further particularly when that wind change hits,” Mr Heffernan said.
“It is going to be a large operation, tomorrow (Friday), to contain and consolidate control lines when we understand where they stop.”
Winds are expected to ease about midnight on Friday.
People were being told to head towards Ballarat, where relief centres have been established at the Lake Wendouree Football Club and the Alexander Oval at Ararat.
The train line between Ballarat and Ararat has been suspended.
Some prisoners with health conditions exacerbated by smoke at the Langi Kal Kal prison will be evacuated.
Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes said she had been in contact with prison management.
“This is a facility that is well set up to respond to situations like this,” she said.
Ms Allan said her thoughts are with all Victorians impacted by the fires.
Residents have been urged to monitor updates on the VicEmergency app.
Bushfire - Emergency Warning for Bayindeen-Rocky Road. You should Leave Now. For more info: https://t.co/EPvJK0H0bj#vicfires
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) February 22, 2024
About midday two grassfires broke out in Parwan and Warrak, in Victoria’s west.
At 4.30pm on Thursday, VicEmergency issued a warning for residents of Warrak to leave now.
Emergency services have closed the Western Highway between Beaufort and Ararat, with drivers heading east diverted on to the Pyrenees Highway heading towards Avoca
Beaufort News and Tattslotto owner Jim Cox said the situation in the town “got pretty hairy” as the fires escalated about lunchtime on Thursday.
“There was hardly a soul in the town, it wasn’t looking good,” he said.
“It was very serious and the traffic was moving all one way (towards Ballarat).
“Police and fire brigade went knocking on doors in the more rural areas telling people to get out. I saw trucks from Gippsland pulled in, that’s how serious it was.”
Relief centres have been set up at CE Brown Reserve, Wendouree and Alexandra Oval, Ararat.
Thursday’s fire is understood to be one of the biggest fires in the Pyrenees Shire since the 2019 Lexton-Ben Major fire.
Mr Cox told the Herald Sun, while on his way out of town, that he was “confident the town will not burn to the ground”.
Thirty CFA units are on the ground, with 11 aircraft also at the scene.
Calls for students to come to the office rang out from Beaufort Primary School as parents picked up their kids with smoke of volcanic proportions looming overhead and the smell of fire everywhere.
A family from nearby Raglan, which was evacuated on Thursday, took refuge at the back of Mr Cox’s newsagent inside a caravan.
Raglan resident Janet Carson, who moved to her home just four weeks ago, fled the fires on Thursday afternoon for the relief centre at Beaufort’s Community Bank Complex.
“The neighbour next door came and told my husband, and it’s just too close for us at the moment so we had to get out.
“Now the wind’s changing, which is worrying us a bit.
“I got my two cats and a box with the will and everything in it. We’ve come without any clothing – we just couldn’t bear to stay there and get everything.”
Ms Carson said she had friends with whom she could stay overnight if needed.
As residents of towns further west made their exodus towards Ballarat, dozens of emergency vehicles were speeding by in the opposite direction.
Police directed traffic at parts along the highway and many cars were pulled over along the road as people figure out their next moves.
Some on the outskirts of Beaufort, who did not want to be named, said they would not flee and began watering down their homes despite text messages from authorities urging them to head east.
The Beaufort relief centre has closed and there is now one at CE Brown Reserve in Wendouree.
A grass fire also ignited on Peninsula Link on Thursday afternoon but the blaze is now under control.
Bushfire - Emergency Warning for Bayindeen-Rocky Road. You should Leave Now. For more info: https://t.co/EPvJK0H0bj #vicfires
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) February 22, 2024
Thousands without power
Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said 5000 homes and businesses had lost power on Thursday afternoon due to high temperatures and strong winds.
“Today’s extreme weather — high temperatures and winds — is already impacting powerline across the state,” she wrote on X.
“This has resulted in around 5000 customers to go off power — mostly in the AusNet area — but the numbers are changing rapidly.”
She said crews were responding to numerous outages and additional crews were on standby.
“Stay up to date on the VicEmergency app. Never approach fallen power lines and follow directions from emergency services,” she wrote.
Today's extreme weather - high temperatures and winds - is already impacting powerline across the state.
— Lily D'Ambrosio MP (@LilyDAmbrosioMP) February 22, 2024
This has resulted in around 5000 customers to go off power - mostly in the AusNet area - but the numbers are changing rapidly.
Families in Melbourne’s northeast who spent six days without power have had their homes cut off from the grid again as extreme weather swept the state.
Jim, a father-of-two in Cockatoo, labelled the rolling power outages as a “joke” after the power to his family home dropped out only two days after it was reconnected from the massive power outage earlier this month.
“When it went out the first time it was for six days and 12 hours,” he said.
“We were living out of the 12 volt fridge connected to portable solar panels form our caravan.
“We had just restocked our fridge because the power had just come back on. Now we’ve lost $200 in food. It’s just crazy,” he told the Herald Sun.
They said they had no idea when power would be restored and added “thank god we have got gas”.
“We can cook and have hot showers but a lot of people don’t have that.
“Gas is king in this situation.”
Some of the worst affected areas included Cranbourne, with 141 homes and businesses losing power on Thursday, and Jeeralang Junction and its surrounds, with 166 properties cut off.
More than 200 residents and businesses in the Wandin North and Mount Evelyn area were also without power as of 4pm, as well as 72 properties in Moe.
Powercor was reporting 725 unplanned outages as of 4pm on Thursday, while United Energy was reporting 782 unplanned outages.
Mercury soars across Victoria
On Thursday morning, Melbourne was tipped to swelter through a high of 38C, with other parts of the state, including Geelong tipped to exceed 40C.
The mercury was set to reach 43C in Mildura and Ouyen and 41C in Swan Hill.
The Country Fire Authority have issued a total fire ban for the districts of Mallee, Wimmera, Northern Country, North Central, South West and Central Victoria.
An extreme heat timetable was in place for most V/Line services throughout the day, with speed restrictions in place to reduce the chance of train and track faults.
More than 30 government schools and early childhood centres were shut on Thursday or forced to temporarily relocate.
A cool change is expected to sweep across the state on Thursday evening, with the chance of a thunderstorm.
In Melbourne, winds will be northerly 35 to 55 km/h during the day, shifting southerly 25 to 35 km/h in the evening.
Meanwhile a former firefighter has slammed selfish motorists who “refused to give way” to fire trucks battling a grass fire on Peninsula Link.
Vicky Gardner says she was forced to stand in the middle of the freeway to persuade drivers to allow fire trucks to cross the road at Langwarrin on Thursday afternoon.
The ex CFA volunteer said she “couldn’t believe no one stopped to help”.
Ms Gardner said she stood on the road until police arrived to manage the traffic.
She also used a large fire extinguisher that she carried in her car to help fireys tackle the blaze.
“It never ceases to amaze me how few people carry an extinguisher,” she said.
The grassfire was first reported on Peninsula Link at Golf Links Rd, Frankston South about 2.30pm.
By 3pm it was under control but motorists were being advised to keep the roads near the fire clear.
School and early childhood closures
SOUTHEAST VICTORIA
Avonsleigh Kindergarten, Avonsleigh
Gembrook Preschool, Gembrook
NORTH-EAST VICTORIA
Our Patch OSHC, Warrandyte Primary School, Warrandyte
Warrandyte Childcare and Preschool Centre Co-operative Limited
Warrandyte Primary School, Warrandyte – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Templestowe Heights Primary School, Templestowe.
NORTH-WEST VICTORIA
Macedon Primary School Combined OSHC, Macedon
Mt Macedon Primary School Combined OSHC, Mount Macedon
SchoolsOUT! Hesket Primary, Hesket
St Andrews Primary School OSHC, St Andrews
YMCA – Eaglehawk North Primary School OSHC, Eaglehawk
Big Childcare – Strathewen PS OSHC, Strathewen
Macedon Early Learning Centre, Macedon
Alice Miller School, Macedon – closed
Braemar College, Mt Macedon Campus – closed
Christmas Hills Primary School, Christmas Hills – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Kangaroo Ground Primary School
St Andrews Primary School, St Andrews – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Hurstbridge Primary School
Strathewen Primary School, Strathewen – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Diamond Valley Secondary College
Hesket Primary School, Hesket – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Romsey Primary School
Macedon Primary School, Macedon – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Sunbury West Primary School
Mount Macedon Primary School, Mount Macedon – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Romsey Primary School
Sunbury And Macedon Ranges Specialist School, Bullengarook Senior Campus – learning from home
Eaglehawk North Primary School, Eaglehawk – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Eaglehawk Primary School
Chewton Primary School, Chewton – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Castlemaine Primary School
SOUTH-WEST VICTORIA
Anglesea Primary School OSHC, Anglesea
Club 1878, Bendigo
Forrest Learning Centre, Colac
Lavers Hill and District Preschool, Lavers Hill
Lorne Kindergarten, Lorne
Pomonal Primary School OSHC, Pomonal
Otway Kids OSHC, Otway
Jan Juc Preschool, Jan Juc
Pomonal Primary School, Pomonal – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Stawell West Primary School, Stawell
Aireys Inlet Primary School – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Torquay College (P-6)
Anglesea Primary School – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Torquay College (P-6)
Bullarto Primary School – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Daylesford College
Forrest Primary School – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Colac South-West Primary School
Halls Gap Primary School – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Halls Gap Community Club
Lavers Hill K-12 College – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Greater Otway Applied Learning School campus
Linton Primary School – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Delacombe Primary School
Little Bendigo Primary School – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Woodmans Hill Secondary College
Yandoit Primary School – site closed. School temporarily relocating to Daylesford Primary School
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