Firefighters battling blazes in Victoria’s west brace for hotter and windier conditions

Firefighters are bracing for hotter and windier conditions as multiple bushfires continue to burn across western Victoria.

An image released on February 28th, 2024 showing Forest Fire Management Teams preparing for extreme and catastrophic fire weather in Victoria around the Bayindeen Rocky Road fire.

Firefighters are bracing for hotter and windier conditions as multiple bushfires continue to burn across western Victoria.

State Control Centre spokesman Luke Heagerty said while there hadn’t been any “significant fire development” on Wednesday, residents in the state’s west were “not out of the woods yet”. He said the forecast was for stronger winds and higher temperatures.

“It just comes down to how soon those winds and temperatures pick up,” Mr Heagerty said.

“If it’s not fire-related risks then the storms that potentially come with the wind change will have the potential to cause us some issues.

“The storms are potentially going to have dry lightning with them, which in itself can create new fires, and then there’s the other element where just storms by themselves can potentially create some … damage to trees and powerlines and properties.”

Fires continue to burn in western Victoria. Picture: Mark Stewart

Mr Heagerty said firefighters were prepared, “so that when any new reports of fires come in we’re able to send a good amount of ­resources straight to that fire and really start to tackle it before it gets too big”.

“We’ve moved large numbers of our resources from other parts of the state into the western part of Victoria in anticipation,” he said.

The NSW Rural Fire Service has also sent about 110 firefighters to Victoria to battle the blazes.

A NSW RFS spokesman said four strike teams from the RFS, one from Fire and Rescue NSW and an incident management team comprised of 14 people from multiple NSW agencies had ­arrived at a base in Ballarat.

Firefighters are bracing themselves for the possibility of hotter and windier conditions. Picture: Mark Stewart

The NSW Large Air Tanker plane is also at Avalon Airport ready to assist if needed.

It comes as the Country Fire Authority urged Victorians to be on high alert, with a catastrophic danger warning issued for the Wimmera region.

Watch-and-act warnings were in place on Wednesday in Main Lead, Waterloo, Amphitheatre, Bayindeen, Ben Nevis, Chute, Elmhurst, Eversley, Glenlogie, Mount Cole, Mount Lonarch and Raglan.

Residents of those towns were told it was not safe for them to return.

On top of our more than 100 firefighters now in Victoria, the NSW Large Air Tanker is also pre positioned at Avalon Airport to assist if required. Extreme to Catastrophic fire danger is forecast across western Victoria today. pic.twitter.com/O8bh3r7OHg

— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) February 27, 2024

People in the areas surrounding the Bayindeen bushfire near Ballarat, which started burning on Thursday and is not yet under control, were advised to leave their homes by midday on Wednesday before extreme fire conditions put residents at significant risk.

A bushfire has been burning in Bayindeen since Thursday and is not yet under control. Picture: Nearmap.

A total fire ban was in place in the Mallee, Wimmera, south west, northern country, north central and central districts of Victoria, including Melbourne and Geelong.

Stephanie Miles, meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology said the main concern on Wednesday afternoon was “clear, dry air” behind the cloud covering parts of the state.

Ms Miles said the clear air could cause temperatures to rise and create strong and gusty winds.

“The next thing that we’re worried about is that westerly change which is going to be impacting the fire site,” she said.

Ms Miles added the westerly change was due to hit at about 8pm on Wednesday, while temperatures of 33-35 degrees were expected around fire sites in the state’s west.