Bushfires: It’s not over yet as heatwave looms

Hundreds of properties are feared lost to raging bushfires over the weekend, with dangerous conditions set to return this week.

A mother and her children were among the last evacuees airlifted from Mallacoota airport on Sunday. Picture: David Caird

Hundreds of properties are feared lost to raging bushfires across the southeast at the weekend as authorities warn the national crisis is far from over, with dangerous weather conditions set to return this week.

Cooler temperatures and rain brought some respite on Sunday but 150 fires continue to burn across NSW and another 48 in Victoria, including two that are threatening communities.

Both states will keep their “state of emergency” and “state of disaster” declarations in place, as they fight to contain fires, protect property and clear roads before the next heatwave arrives on Thursday.

Scott Morrison, who bolstered military support on Saturday, warned the crisis was likely to continue for months. “The fires are not over. The crisis is not over,” the Prime Minister said.

“In Tasmania and in Victoria, their more difficult seasons usually come later in January and in February. So there is still a long way to go.”

There was some good news in Victoria, with the successful evacuation from Mallacoota of a further 350 people, mostly young families, by Chinook helicopter. As of Sunday night, it was believed 400 people were staying in the isolated town and the military had dropped off essential supplies.

Victorian Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville says ‘this is far from over’. Picture: Getty

The number of people who ­remain unaccounted for across the state, which was as high as 28 on Friday, has fallen to four. However, there are grave concerns for those people, given that they are understood to live in areas that have been hit by fire.

Victorian Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville said even if evacuation orders were lifted, “it is very likely, very possible that we’re back in this same position … in a couple of days saying we’ve ­reissued that directive”.

Temperatures in fire-affected areas are set to rise into the high 30s, possibly hitting 40C, on Thursday and Friday.

“This is far from over,” Ms ­Neville said, acknowledging that the crisis was taking a toll on many people. Hundreds of people and their pets have taken refuge at ­relief centres set up across the state. Many do not know whether their houses are still standing.

“People are very, very keen to get home,” she said. “Just be ­assured that we are doing everything we can to relieve that toll on you but we are going to continue to face this situation throughout this summer period.”

A packed community meeting at Tallangatta in Victoria's northeast, where the Corryong fire is expected to merge with an equally large fire less than 10km away over the NSW border, has been told to brace for fires for many weeks to come.

“We are looking at the long haul,” Country Fire Authority deputy incident controller David Jenson said on Sunday.

“We’re talking four, six, eight, 10 weeks that large fires are going to be in the landscape.”

The death toll from the fires has risen to 23 after the bodies of Dick Lang, 78, a bush pilot and safari ­operator, and his son Clayton, 43, a surgeon, were found on Kangaroo Island where 170,000ha — a third of the island — have burned so far. Many properties have been lost, including the luxury ­Southern Ocean Lodge resort.

RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said Saturday was a ‘very difficult day’ as the fires in NSW burned through numerous properties. Picture: AAP

While the New Year’s Eve fires hit East Gippsland hard, the latest spread of fire has affected northeastern towns of Tintaldra, Towong, Pine Mountain and Cobungra, where there were reports of property damage.

Properties have also been ­reported lost or affected in Batlow, North Nowra and Bundanoon in southern NSW.

Jeremy Sternson, who with his family split their time between Melbourne and their hobby farm near Cobungra, learned on Sunday that the property was ­destroyed and their horses missing.

“My neighbour called me,” he said. “After he saved his house, he came to check on mine and said it was a blazing inferno.

“The whole property is just apparently black.”

The family bought the house in 2004 after it was damaged in ­another fire and the previous owners couldn’t bear to stay there.

“It’s just a lot of memories — 16 years’ worth,” Mr Sternson said. “It’s a bit heartbreaking, but it’s not the end of the world.”

Victorian fire authorities said they were still unable to quantify overall losses as thick smoke had hampered their assessment. There are 18 communities that remain inaccessible and isolated.

NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons described Saturday, when temp­eratures hit as high as 46C in the southeast, as a “very difficult day”.

“We are getting reports that the property losses, the damage and destruction, is likely to be numbering in the hundreds as a result of yesterday’s fire activity and fire spread,” he said.

“We’re talking a considerable number, a considerable impact.”

There had been serious concerns for the northeast Victorian town of Corryong, which was in the path of a large fire headed north towards the NSW border. However, a team of 60 firefighters managed to successfully protect the town centre from heavy ember attack. Nearby properties have been lost.

Fears for the NSW south coast town of Eden subsided on Sunday afternoon, following the weather change. Locals had earlier been told to leave the town, with an out-of-control fire raging 20km to its southwest.

Victorian Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said Australian Defence Force personnel would help identify property losses. The ADF is also working with police to make contact with the isolated communities.