Victoria's bushfires were so fierce today, the metal from a vehicle melted clean off it. There continue to be grave concerns for four people unaccounted for.
The military has been drafted in following a horror day of bushfire destruction throughout Victoria.
Four people remain unaccounted for in East Gippsland, the area in Victoria most affected by the fires, with grave concerns for their well being.
Two men - a father and son - were confirmed dead in the NSW town of Cobargo today. Another man is missing in NSW. For more on the fires in NSW bushfires please see our story on the bushfires there.
In Victoria, there are 33 fires burning with at least a dozen new blazes sparked by lightning in the alpine region on Tuesday.
Seven emergency warnings - the highest alert - remain in place across East Gippsland, where fire has so far ripped through more than 230,000 hectares. Across the state, fire has damaged 400,000 hectares. Another emergency warning is in place for a fire straddling the Victoria-NSW border at Corryong/Walwa. So far 19 structures have been confirmed destroyed in Sarsfield and 24 in Buchan.
About 4000 people flocked to a beach in Mallacoota, in East Gippsland. The sky above the town turned an eerie blood red. Cheers reportedly went up when the wind changed direction and the fires moved away from the area.
Thousands of homes have lost power, with AusNet Services reporting electricity has gone out at 5700 properties in East Gippsland and another 1800 in northeast Victoria. The energy company said it could take days to restore power.
In South Australia, police are treating a bushfire near Kangaroo Island as suspicious. The fire at Second Valley was first reported after 1pm on Tuesday and has burnt more than 28 hectares.
Disturbing images have emerged in the aftermath of the fires that swept through Victoria today.
Burned out homes and dead wildlife, for sure. But a picture, taken by AAP, showed a pool of molten metal.
A ute in Victoria was reduced to liquid metal.
That was some of the remains of a burnt out ute on a property in Sarsfield, East Gippsland.
Temperatures were so hot the metal melted and collected around the destroyed remains of the car.
Defence force fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and naval vessels will be deployed to the state to help with bushfire evacuations in the the region, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds confirmed on Tuesday.
Black Hawk helicopters, an Airbus MRH90 chopper and an a fixed-wing C27J plane all have been deployed.
Naval vessels including the HMAS Choules are en route and the MV Sycamore is also expected to be off the East Gippsland coast in the next 48 hours. The aircraft are expected to help with evacuations and moving fire crews around Victoria.
Black Hawk helicopters from the ADF are to be sent to fire zones.
The news comes after the Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said up to 40 military personnel will help assess the fire damage from Wednesday.
He also said the fire risk in the state remained “dynamic” and up to 15 fires had started after lightning strikes in Victoria.
A bushfire that threatened lives and homes in suburban Melbourne yesterday is under investigation, amid suspicions it may have been deliberately lit, reports AAP.
A Skycrane drops water on a bushfire in scrub behind houses in Bundoora, Melbourne, Monday, December 30, 2019. (AAP Image/Ellen Smith)
Police say the circumstances behind Monday’s grass fire are unknown and an investigation remains ongoing.
The Bundoora and Mill Park grass fire in the city’s north prompted an evacuation alert and damaged homes on Monday evening.
Ambulance Victoria said two people were treated at the scene for non-life threatening injuries.
Firefighters on the ground were continuing to patrol the area on Tuesday and extinguishing hot spots as aircraft helped control flare ups.
“Smoke is still visible from nearby roads and communities,” emergency services said.
Cheers rang out in the seaside town of Mallacoota when the fires changed direction today.
But fears remain for four Victorians who are unaccounted for in the East Gippsland region.
Two men, a father and son, died in NSW today outside the town of Cobargo defending their property.
Their deaths come after volunteer firefighter Samuel McPaul, 28, was killed when his truck flipped amid a “fire tornado” at Jingellic, about 110km east of Albury in NSW, on Monday night. Another man is missing in NSW.
The four missing in Victoria are all thought to be in areas close to Mallacoota.
Eight bushfires are burning at emergency level around East Gippsland with a further 12 burning in other parts of the state, including areas close to the NSW border.
AAP is reporting that the Bureau of Meteorology says the temperature spiked at 49C at Mallacoota around 8am.
The bureau believes that fire-affected air, or fire itself, moved past the weather station at the time, with the mercury dropping to 24C just 10 minutes later.
The blazes have cut power to homes, with AusNet Services reporting 5700 properties without electricity in East Gippsland, with another 1800 in northeast Victoria.
The energy company expects it could take days to restore power.
The ADF will help respond to fires raging in Victoria’s East Gippsland where four people are missing in blazes that have destroyed homes, reports AAP.
The state government has also announced a bushfire response taskforce it vows will avoid “red tape” in dealing with fallout from the blazes.
The developments come after lightning sparked more than a dozen new blazes in Victoria’s alpine region on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that the military will provide help.
“(The) federal government, especially our defence forces, are working together with the Victorian Government to respond to Victorian bushfires,” Mr Morrison wrote on Twitter.
Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said up to 40 military personnel will help assess the fire damage from Wednesday.
Authorities are also considering other ways the military could provide support, such as fixed-wing planes and helicopters.
Requests for 70 firefighters have also been made to Canada and the United States
Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp says they are aware of "significant losses" on properties in the East Gippsland area.
He said a helicopter has flown over some of the local communities to make an initial assessment.
"We still need to do some work to … determine what those numbers look like," Mr Crisp said.
These are the figures he provided before 5pm on Tuesday:
"Because this has been done by the air, it's difficult at times to determine whether it's actually a house or a large shed or an outbuilding," he said.
Below are some images of the damage in the district of Sarsfield.
Picture: James Ross/AAP
Picture: David Crosling
Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian
These are the eight emergency bushfires currently burning in Victoria:
Source: Vic Emergency
Four people remain unaccounted for in Victoria but the Country Fire Authority says there's also been "relatively good news" amid the disaster.
CFA Deputy Chief Officer Steve Warrington this afternoon said a wind change has gone through the East Gippsland town of Mallacoota and "it's now bypassed that town" taking the major fire front with it.
CFA Deputy Chief Officer Steve Warrington. Picture: Ellen Smith/AAP
"I understand there was a public cheer down at the jetty when that was announced," Mr Warrington said.
"So that is good news for us.
"But having said that … there are still active fires in that area and they're still actively extinguishing houses that have burnt down on the outskirts of Mallacoota. That work will continue."
The town was bathed in red earlier today and 4000 people were trapped on a beach.
Picture: Twitter/Aileen Brown@ail_brown
Picture: Kammeron Cran
Mr Warrington said communities are still isolated in Mallacoota, and a "similar issue" is occurring at Corryong near the New South Wales border where the change has now gone through.
"We have fire right around that town, so still a high degree of anxiety by the community and a lot of firefighting activity occurring again with numerous property losses particularly on the outskirts of the town in Corryong," he said.
"That town also is quite isolated and so our ability to get either trucks in or out, or …support services in and out of Corryong, is quite limited at this stage.
"But, again, we'll take any good news we can at the moment, and the good news is, for those two towns, the change has gone through, albeit there has been asset and property loss in that area. "
Earlier, Mallacoota local Michelle Roberts told The Age the town was covered in darkness during the morning.
"I can describe it as probably hell on earth," she said.
A primary school in East Gippsland is one of a number of structures to be destroyed by fire today.
Deputy Premier James Merlino on Tuesday afternoon confirmed the loss of Clifton Creek Primary School.
He assured families that work was already being done to have facilities for staff and students by the first term of the school year in 2020.
"Other schools across the region will be provided with the support they need," Mr Merlino said.
"Thank you to our firefighters and emergency services personnel for everything they are doing to keep Victorians safe."
The destruction at the school has been captured from above by Nine's helicopter.
There’s been a major update on a man missing more than a week in crocodile-infested waters, as the region is lashed by flooding.
A 112m wind turbine has collapsed after severe thunderstorms wreaked havoc in one state, prompting this call.
Residents in Far North Queensland rocked by surging floods will be able to access emergency disaster relief, Anthony Albanese has confirmed.