Firefighters across Victoria brace for extreme risk, residents told to evacuate immediately

Firefighters are preparing for devastating conditions across Victoria on Thursday, as residents near a massive national park blaze are warned to evacuate immediately.

Residents of Moyston and Pomonal were told to leave immediately on Wednesday afternoon because of the threat to properties near the Grampians National Park fire.

Authorities warned that the fire could impact properties adjoining the national park as the flames travelled south of the area of the blaze that devastated Pomonal in February. Some parts of Pomonal fell outside of the latest emergency zone and into a “watch and act” area.

An emergency warning to leave immediately has also been issued for Bornes Hill, about an hour south of Pomonal. “Leaving immediately is the safest option, before conditions become too dangerous,” Vic Emergency’s warning read.

It is feared extreme hot, dry and windy conditions on Boxing Day could make the Grampians fire or any new blazes impossible to control.

A State Control Centre spokesperson warned that conditions were expected to be the worst since the Black Summer 2019-2020 bushfire season because of widespread extreme fire-danger ratings and challenging conditions.

The conditions would begin early on Boxing Day and push into Friday and Saturday, the spokesperson said.

During the Black Summer bushfires, huge blazes raged across Victoria and NSW over an exhausting 90 days. In Victoria, the fires killed five people, destroyed more than 400 homes and 6800 livestock and burnt more than 1.5 million hectares.

Gippsland and Hume were the regions hardest hit by significant fires, particularly close to the NSW border. The Australian Defence Force undertook its biggest-ever domestic maritime evacuation, at Mallacoota in East Gippsland, where about 130 homes were destroyed.

The current blaze in the Grampians has engulfed more than 44,000 hectares of bush over the past week and forced residents in Halls Gap to evacuate. Authorities say it is too dangerous for residents to return to the town, and relief centres are open in Ararat and Stawell.

In addition to the threat of the Grampians bushfire spreading, authorities fear new fires may start, prompting them to impose a total fire ban for the entire state on Thursday. An extreme fire-danger rating has been declared for all districts except East Gippsland.

Authorities warned people in designated “elevated risk areas” in Bullengarook and Gisborne, south-east of Creswick, near the Gurdies and near the Grampians fire that they must set their bushfire survival plans into motion.

People leaving those areas should do so on Wednesday night, or no later than 10am on Boxing Day before the extreme fire conditions begin, they said.

“Thursday’s conditions will make it difficult for firefighters to suppress a fire should one start,” CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan said.

“There are two major concerns on Thursday – the fires already burning in the landscape, and any new fires that start as a result of the extreme fire risk.”

Boxing Day’s conditions are forecast to be so dire that more than 100 interstate firefighters will converge on Victoria to assist in containing any fires.

Emergency services used milder conditions in the days before Boxing Day to make final preparations such as back-burning and creating fire breaks. Victorians have been warned to stay abreast of emergency warnings and to avoid any unnecessary travel on Thursday.

In Melbourne, a high of 40 degrees is forecast in some suburbs with a cool change expected to sweep through in the evening. Near the Grampians fire, Halls Gap has a predicted high of 32 degrees, and Stawell and Ararat a peak of 37 degrees.

A severe weather warning for damaging winds was announced for much of western Victoria on Wednesday.

Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said gusts reaching 100km/h would inflame any existing or new fires.

“With these hot, dry and windy conditions, any fires that do get going are likely to be uncontrollable and uncontainable,” Narramore said.

“Obviously concerned definitely around the Grampians with the fire there at the moment, with these strong gusty winds, then that westerly wind change coming in. Big concern for the fire areas and the communities around the Grampians fire.”

On Tuesday, Halls Gap residents were granted a two-hour window to make mercy dashes into the town so they could retrieve personal belongings and finalise their defences.

State Control Centre spokesman Luke Heagarty has urged Victorians to make sure all fires are out by midnight on Wednesday.

“If you’ve been camping, if you’ve been out in the bush, or if you’ve been working at home ... Check any fires, make sure they’re fully extinguished and help keep Victoria safe,” Heagarty said.

Elevated risks of heat-related health issues are expected, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke, Ambulance Victoria emergency management director Dale Armstrong warned.

Heat stroke is fatal in up to 80 per cent of cases.

“Most at risk are elderly people, young children and those with medical conditions. However, heat and heat-related illnesses can affect anybody,” Armstrong said.

Victorians have been urged to prepare for outages. Energy network company AusNet warned power faults could be triggered to prevent bushfires starting on Thursday.

A cool change is forecast to wash over Victoria on Friday, but the extreme fire dangers could push into parts of central north-eastern NSW on Friday and Saturday.

Fires break out interstate

Hot, dry and windy conditions are fanning fires in various states and territories as firefighters work to contain blazes in almost every jurisdiction.

A smoke warning has been issued due to a grassfire in Smithfield to Adelaide’s north, as temperatures in the South Australian capital push towards 36 degrees. Total fire bans are in place for the Mount Lofty Ranges and west coast region of South Australia.

Fires are burning east of Perth and in north-west and south-west WA, and emergency services have warned people to avoid the Laverton area and watch conditions in Bornholm in Albany.

Fire services are working to control minor blazes and scrub fires in the NT, NSW and in Sprent, south-west of Tasmania’s Devonport.

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With AAP