By Roy Ward
Emergency services are warning Victorians to check for alerts before travelling within the state over Christmas as firefighters brace for a high-risk holiday period, and more towns prepare for possible evacuations.
Much of the state is forecast to have temperatures of more than 30 degrees – 40 degrees in some places – on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, raising the possibility of more bushfires.
The sun sets as smoke fills the skies from the Yarram Gap Road fire in the Grampians at the weekend.Credit: State Control Centre
Mildura is forecast to have a high of 43 on Boxing Day, while Horsham is expecting 42 and Shepparton 41.
Firefighters continued to battle three main fires across Victoria on Sunday, including in the Grampians National Park in the state’s west, The Gurdies on the Bass Coast, and Bullengarook, west of Gisborne.
The Grampians National Park will remain closed over Christmas with the Yarram Gap Road fire out of control and covering more than 34,000 hectares.
The towns of Bellfield, Bellfield Settlement, Flat Rock Crossing, Fyans Creek, Grampians Junction and Halls Gap were advised to evacuate at the weekend while residents of Watgania and Mafeking were given a “leave immediately” order on Sunday afternoon.
On Sunday night, the towns of Bellellen, Black Range, Great Western, Jallukar, Lake Fyans, Londonderry, Moyston, Pomonal, Rhymney, Willaura and Willaura North were given a “watch and act – prepare to leave immediately” message.
State Response Controller Garry Cook warned travellers that back-burning was continuing to help reduce the spread of the fire in the Grampians.
“As we look toward Boxing Day, firefighters are currently conducting back-burning operations to protect nearby towns and establish fire breaks,” Cook said.
A tree burns during the Yarram Gap Road fire in the Grampians at the weekend.Credit: State Control Centre
“Boxing Day is a big travel day right across the state, so we urge those travelling to download the VicEmergency app before you go and to continue listening to emergency broadcasters and monitoring the conditions and warnings of your destination throughout your holiday.”
Authorities have repeatedly asked travellers to try to avoid driving in the heat of the day on hot days and to have multiple ways to access emergency broadcasts in case electricity or internet connections went down, especially those who may not know the area well.
Western Victoria was highlighted as an area of concern earlier in the fire season after two years of lower rainfall in much of the region.
Horsham incident controller Aaron Kennedy said much of the ground was so dry that “all new ignitions were taking” once a fire begins.
“We’ve seen significant movement in this fire over the last couple of days, with the fire travelling up to 16 kilometres on Friday,” Kennedy said.
“The fire is in steep and difficult terrain, and our firefighting operations have been hampered by quite significant winds and underlying fuel dryness.”
Firefighters were able to slow the spread of the Bullengarook fire on Sunday, but authorities warned residents to remain ready to act because the fire was not under control and conditions could change.
Favourable weather kept the fire at The Gurdies from having any significant spread on Sunday. Work will continue for several days to create control lines and extinguish hot spots.
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