Firefighters injured as Grampians blaze reaches township

An out-of-control bushfire has injured five firefighters and is reported to have destroyed property in the Grampians National Park as emergency services say it has reached the town of Pomonal.

The Country Fire Authority said it had received initial reports of property loss, but the extent of the damage is yet to be confirmed.

Lowan MP Emma Kealy said reports from the fire ground indicated 25 to 30 houses had been lost in the Pomonal area.

Kealy said there had been no reports of lives lost as of 9.40pm, but fires were still active in the region.

About 100 people were at the Stawell Emergency Centre and another 20 were at the Ararat Emergency Relief Centre, Kealy said in a statement.

She said Barney’s Bar & Bistro, a restaurant 10 minutes drive from Halls Gap, was still standing.

Smoke from the Bellfield bushfire in the Grampians.Credit: Bellview Connection Equine Therapy & Counselling

“A massive thank you to our amazing CFA volunteers for their incredible work today in horrific conditions.

“Our losses would have been far worse without their courage, hard work and commitment to our communities.”

Kealy said local roads would be closed until at least Wednesday morning.

“Please no snooping as soon as the roads open - give locals space to grieve the loss of property within their own community,” she said.

Stawell resident Peter Greenberger, a chair of the Pomonal Uniting Church, said it was likely to be a long road to recovery for those affected by the fire.

“It’s been a horrific day. We’re getting it from both sides in Stawell – it’s been coming up over the mountains from Dadswells Bridge since this afternoon, then when the wind changed it started coming down from Pomonal,” he said.

He said Pomonal had been “like an island” surrounded by fire when it was spared from the 2006 blazes. He said early reports indicated the town had been badly damaged this time.

Smoke drifting from the Pomonal fire, about 25 kilometres from Stawell, was impacting air quality around the region.

Parts of Black Range Road and Ararat-Halls Gap Road were closed, as emergency services warned road travel may be hazardous due to low visibility associated with smoke.

CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said conditions in Pomonal were “quite horrendous”, on the worst day for fire conditions since the Black Summer bushfires.

“Crews are actively engaged in property protection and also seeking to protect the number of community members that have sought refuge on the oval there in the village,” Heffernan said.

“It is a very dynamic situation that is occurring out there in Pomonal, and we’re really watching that at the moment.”

Five CFA members received minor injuries while fighting the blaze near Pomonal on Tuesday afternoon.

A spokesperson said members had been assessed by paramedics and additional details would be released when they were known.

“CFA has many hundreds of members on the fire ground this evening and our priority is ensuring their safety as well as protecting the community, the spokesperson said.

People living in Pomonal, Borough Huts and Bellfield have been told it is too late to evacuate as the blaze threatens homes.

Smoke from a bushfire in the Grampians National Park earlier on Tuesday.

Areas east of Pomonal are also at risk, emergency services warned at about 5.30pm.

Residents of the area east of Mount William Creek, including Mokepilly, Bellellen and Jallukar, have been advised to evacuate.

A second bushfire burning near Mount Stapylton is impacting private property north of Dadswells Bridge and is travelling in a north-easterly direction.

Heffernan said both Grampians blazes remained out of control and that there were still strong winds and high temperatures in the region.

By 8.30pm, the fire had crossed the Wimmera River west of Glenorchy near Nayla Swamp road on the northern side of the river.

Residents of Dadswells Bridge, Glenorchy, Laharum, St Helens Plains and Wal Wal were advised to take shelter.

“Fire conditions are now dangerous and unpredictable. This fire is threatening homes and lives. It is too late to leave,” emergency services said.

An emergency relief centre has been established at the Grampians Community Health Centre and at Alexandra Oval in Ararat.

Emergency services warn of bushfire near Ballarat

Residents living in several townships near Ballarat were advised to leave their homes about 7pm, due to a bushfire at Newtown.

Emergency services advised the fire had spread into the Ross Creek State Forest about 7.30pm.

The bushfire was travelling from Italian Gully Road in a northerly direction towards Scarsdale and Woodland Drive including Skipper Road.

Residents in Newtown, Ross Creek, Scarsdale, Smythesdale and Italian Gully were advised to leave their homes.

“Don’t wait, leaving now is the safest option - conditions may change and get worse very quickly.

“Emergency services may not be able to help you if you decide to stay. By choosing to stay, you and your family may be at risk of serious injury or death,” the warning said.

Shortly before 2.30am on Wednesday, an updated advisory said that the threat from that fire had been reduced.

It was not yet under control, but the behaviour of the fire had changed and the threat to communities was reduced.

The fires closed the Western Highway between the Henty Highway in Horsham and the Sunraysia Highway in Ballarat.

Thunderstorms cause major power outages

The thunderstorm that hit parts of Melbourne brought hail as it travelled south-east towards the city on Tuesday afternoon.

Residents in Highett, Altona North and Hampton were among those who reported hail as big as golf balls shortly after 2pm.

As the storm battered the city, the temperature at Melbourne’s Olympic Park dropped from a peak of 35.8 degrees at 1.30pm to 23 degrees by 6pm.

Meteorologist Kevin Parkyn said severe thunderstorms with the potential for damaging winds were expected to continue into Tuesday evening.

A thunderstorm warning was issued for parts of East Gippsland at about 6pm, the Bureau of Meteorology warning Bairnsdale and the Gippsland Lakes region were at risk from destructive winds. The warning was cancelled at about 8.30pm.

At 7.45pm, VICSES had received more than 2200 calls for assistance since midday. Of those, 1800 were due to fallen trees and 400 were a result of building damage.

A spokesperson said the number was continuing to climb and there were a lot of people they were yet to get to.

The busiest SES volunteers in Victoria were members of the Monash unit, which had responded to 288 calls for help in Melbourne’s south-east. The Emerald unit had responded to 154 calls for assistance in the Dandenong Ranges and the Corio unit had responded to 123 calls.

The spokesperson said phone operators were struggling to answer all the calls coming through. They said it was likely to be an extensive clean-up over the next few days.

Half a million Victorian homes were blacked out as the extreme weather brought down power lines and the state’s largest coal generator, forcing the energy market operator to order electricity be shut off to some houses.

About 50,000 customers were reconnected to power supply on Tuesday afternoon with 457,000 still without power at 9.20pm.

Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said power line companies will work through the night to assess damage to sub transmission lines, zone sub-stations and feeders.

“This has been one of the largest outage events in the state’s history,” D’Ambrosio said on X.

“We hope to see more customers reconnected overnight with priority given to power dependent customers.”

Powercor and CitiPower crews responded to more than 400 different faults across western and central Victoria, as well as Melbourne’s inner suburbs.

The areas with the most properties without power include Geelong and the Surf Coast, Ballarat, Maryborough and Melbourne’s western suburbs.

The energy provider said a combination of extreme temperatures, strong winds and thousands of lightning strikes caused damage to poles, wires and other electrical infrastructure.

“Throughout this afternoon and into this evening, we are expecting more winds, storms and lightning to hits western and central Victoria and we are urging people to take steps to prepare for power outages now,” a spokesperson said.

AGL Energy’s Loy Yang coal plant went offline shortly after 2pm. The exact cause of the outage is still being investigated.

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra said four units had shut down at Loy Yang.

“It means that industry has already had its power reduced. People at home – may have their power compromised. Business will be paying the price as well in terms of power outages or reductions.”

Roads flooded and transport disrupted across the network

A number of Melbourne roads were impacted by the storm, as water flooded roads and affected traffic.

The storm front as seen in Bentleigh East on Tuesday afternoon.Credit: James Kilpatrick

Metro Trains advised people to defer travel in Melbourne on Tuesday afternoon and evening due to reports of storm damage across the network, as the concourse and platforms at Flinders Street Station overflowed with delayed peak-hour passengers. Passengers were advised to consider alternative transport options if possible.

Buses are replacing trains on several lines. Trains are impacted on sections of the Belgrave, Craigieburn, Cranbourne, Frankston, Glen Waverley and Pakenham lines.

V/Line services have been suspended on sections of the Gippsland, Seymour and Shepparton lines.

Replacement buses are expected to be delayed in their arrival on Tuesday afternoon, a spokesperson said.

Metro services are impacted on the following lines:

• Belgrave between Ringwood and Belgrave
• Craigieburn between Essendon and Craigieburn
• Cranbourne/Pakenham between Caulfield and Westall
• Frankston between Caulfield and Moorabbin
• Glen Waverley between Darling and Glen Waverley
• Lilydale between Ringwood and Mooroolbark
• Alamein between Camberwell and Alamein

Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent said lightning had started several fires across the state, particularly in the west, which were threatening homes.

“We have seen a very challenging day today, with very, very hot, windy and dry conditions across the state,” he said.

“We’re seeing significant hail in a number of areas, with very, very strong winds to such a degree that they’ve even brought down some powerlines.”

A catastrophic fire rating was issued for the Wimmera for Tuesday. Melbourne and the western half of the state are under a total fire ban.

West Wimmera Mayor Tim Meyer told 3AW on Tuesday morning that schools and kindergartens had shut, which annoyed some residents.

Chaos for commuters at Flinders Street on Tuesday afternoon.Credit: Craig Platt

Emergency management commissioner Rick Nugent said aircraft had been deployed to high-risk areas.

The heatwave that began on Saturday is expected to peter out on Wednesday, when the maximum temperature is predicted to fall to 19 degrees.

A catastrophic fire warning was last issued during the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20, when 33 people died, 3000 homes were destroyed and more than 17 million hectares of land were burnt.

Heffernan, the CFA chief, told 3AW on Tuesday morning that Victoria had yet to experience any significant rainfall in February after wet weather hit the state earlier this summer.

With Hannah Kennelly