Evacuations to begin in Victoria as 'State Of Disaster' declared; second death and 17 still missing

A NSW town has been told it will be indefensible because of forecast fire conditions. It comes as a second fire death is confirmed in Victoria. 

Residents in the NSW town of Batlow have been told their community will not be defendable if predicted fire conditions become a reality today.

"If you are in this area, particularly in the general area from Batlow North to Wondalga, and west to Blowering Dam, you need to leave," the RFS said in a statement.

"Fire is forecast to impact the township of Batlow (this) afternoon."

The area has a population of abot 1300 people. 

Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews on Thursday night confirmed the second death in East Gippsland, but could not reveal the man’s identity.

“There are still some family members that need to be talked to, that’s a process that I think everybody would support,” he told reporters in Melbourne.

Victoria Police said the man’s body was found at a property in Maramingo Creek, near Genoa, by family on Wednesday evening.

“It is believed the man suffered a medical episode while fighting the fires,” they said in a statement.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has declared a State of Disaster, the first time the powers have been used.

Earlier on Wednesday, family members confirmed that Buchan man Mick Roberts had died at his home.

Another 17 people remain missing in East Gippsland, none of whom are emergency services personnel.

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The premier noted the second death while revealing a state of disaster has been declared for six local government areas and three alpine resorts confronted by fires.

The declaration includes powers introduced in the aftermath of devastating 2009 blazes which have never been used before, including compelling people to evacuate.

Mr Andrews said they will send a powerful message to people in fire areas.

“If you can leave, you must leave. If you don’t, we simply cannot guarantee your safety,” he said.

“You may well find yourself isolated and cut off for an extended period of time after fire activity.”

Areas covered by the declaration, which has been made for seven days, are East Gippsland Shire, Mansfield Shire, Wellington Shire, Wangaratta Rural Shire, Towong Shire and Alpine Shire.

Mount Butler, Mount Hotham and the Mount Stirling Alpine Resorts are also covered.

More than 50 fires are raging across the state, with the worst burning predominantly in East Gippsland and the alpine region. Residents of those areas have been told they should leave, before strong winds and temperatures above 40C forecast for some areas on Saturday.

“We have a small window of opportunity for those people to leave now and we want them to leave now," Assistant Emergency Services Commissioner Deb Abbott told reporters on Thursday.

 Though Saturday will bring the most bushfire risk, conditions will deteriorate from Friday, with authorities declaring a total fire ban on Friday across East Gippsland and the Wimmera, North East and South West regions. Temperatures are expected to peak in the high 20s and winds will be light, but that does not rule out more fire danger.

“There can be significant fire activity even when conditions are fairly light in terms of winds,” Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Tom Delamotte told AAP.

The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and Country Fire Authority say crews are monitoring fires between the towns of Orbost and Lakes Entrance in East Gippsland. Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

The military has arrived to provide relief and resources for fire victims across East Gippsland, as well as evacuating people from Mallacoota. About 24 communities are isolated and reaching them to deliver supplies has been difficult.

Mr Andrews said Victoria will call on the military to provide more assistance with suchs such as tenting.

“The provision of disaster payments that have now exceeded some more than $21 million in New South Wales alone and we expect more of that to continue in Victoria as the full devastation of the fires there becomes more evident.”

The leader will visit East Gippsland on Friday.

Ahead of midnight on Thursday, warning levels for all Victorian fires were sitting no higher than a “watch and act” alert.

But smoky conditions have at times stopped flights to rescue people, deliver supplies and rotate firefighters.

Authorities have called on residents and tourists to evacuate towns along Australia's east coast ahead of extreme heat forecasts for the weekend https://t.co/kJ6PVyUggf pic.twitter.com/VYQ8gOcfK6

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 2, 2020

Authorities are also concerned a fire at Corryong in Victoria’s northeast could merge with another on NSW’s southern border.

Corryong residents are being doorknocked and told to leave the region before the weekend.

A series of community meetings were held on Thursday in Mallacoota, where 3000 to 4000 people remain stranded.

The navy will start evacuating Mallacoota on Friday, with about 1000 people to leave.

DOOMED TOWN

Meanwhile in New South Wales, bushfire is expected to hit the 1300-strong township of Batlow as other NSW communities prepare for extreme conditions.

All people in the Snowy Valley town were ordered to leave by Thursday night, with the 130,000-hectare Dunns Road fire expected to hit on Friday afternoon.

“The township will not be defendable,” the RFS warned residents on Thursday.

“Embers from the fire may land in pine plantation adjacent to the township.”

Hi world. The scale of evacuation in Australia's South coast right now is truly massive.

The area marked by @NSWRFS as a 'leave zone' ~ = London, or NYC. pic.twitter.com/yAnZltBRpy

— Ketan Joshi (@KetanJ0) January 2, 2020

A similar message was issued for Khancoban, Greg Greg and Tooma, where fire is expected to hit on Saturday.

Friday marks the first day of a two-day statewide total fire ban and a week-long state of emergency.

Holiday-makers in the alps and popular holiday destinations between Nowra and the Victorian border were asked to be out by Friday night, causing massive traffic queues and petrol shortages.

Police overnight were escorting 100 cars at a time on the Princes Highway from Milton to Nowra. Usually a 90-minute trip, the process was expected to take at least six hours.

One convoy was halted midway due to dangerous trees.

Very high fire danger is forecast for districts on or immediately west of the Great Dividing Range, while Saturday is expected to be severe or extreme across most of the state’s southeast.

More than 100 fires are still burning across the state, with many of the most dangerous in the southeast.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Thursday declared a week-long state of emergency from Friday until January 9.

“We don’t take these decisions lightly,” she said.

It comes as Prime Minister Scott Morrison is copping global criticism for his handling of the bushfire crisis. Footage of him quickly abandoning a meet-and-greet in a bushfire-ravaged NSW town after angry locals verbally abused him has gone viral.

The prime minister on Thursday visited the Bega Valley township of Cobargo, which was engulfed by flames on Tuesday morning.

In Canberra, an elderly woman died after a flight from Brisbane after suffering respiratory distress at Canberra Airport, which was blanketed in thick smoke from the bushfires.