States brace for catastrophic conditions

Residents of South Australia and Victoria risk death if they ignore fire warnings

SOUTH Australia and Victoria are preparing for catastrophic fire conditions today, with temperatures predicted to go into the 40s and emergency services warning residents to get out early or risk death defending their homes.

The SA Country Fire Service has declared 10 out of 15 fire districts Code Red or catastrophic -- the most severe fire warning -- as authorities in Victoria issued the same warning for the Wimmera region in the state's northeast.

Chief fire officers of the two states were forthright in their warnings to residents yesterday, telling people to get out early, enact their fire plans and stay away from the bush or risk death.

Temperatures are expected to reach 42C in Adelaide and 43C in Melbourne, and both states have declared total fire bans.

South Australian CFS chief officer Euan Ferguson said hot northerly winds and high temperatures would combine to produce "a very challenging day".

But Adelaide residents appeared to cope with the heatwave over the weekend.

After the city sweated through maximums of 41C on Friday, 41.3C on Saturday and 42C yesterday, a South Australian Health Department spokesman said there were a "minimal" 15 admissions to city hospitals for heat problems on Saturday. The majority were people between 60 and 90 suffering from heat stress or dehydration.

"People are listening to the messages about taking care of themselves during the heatwave," he said. "They're heeding the messages about keeping cool, drinking water and staying out of the sun during the hottest part of the day."

A nine-day heatwave in January and February last year -- during which there were six days when temperatures reached more than 40C -- caused 58 deaths from heat problems.

Mr Ferguson said 10 of the state's 15 fire districts had been declared at catastrophic risk, with most parks and reserves closed in those areas, and school holidays childcare programs cancelled.

"It means fire behaviour might be such that control might be impossible," he said.

"It means fires will take hold very quickly, and travel with great speed."

Mr Ferguson urged all those in the catastrophic districts to activate their bushfire survival plans and leave early today if that was their choice.

"There's a risk people who stay and defend their homes may die doing so," he said.

Victorian Chief Fire Officer Russell Rees issued similar warnings about today's fire danger and the need for people to be prepared. He said it was the first time the authorities had issued a catastrophic fire warning in Victoria.

"We want the people who are in the Wimmera area who are in a high-risk environment to decide what to do and where they are going to go," he said.

"It's vital we give people this information, because we are concerned about their lives, the lives of their loved ones, and we want people to take action."

Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment chief fire officer Ewan Waller said all parks in the Wimmera area, including the popular Grampians region, will be closed and campers asked to leave.

"Across Victoria is not a place you want to be in the bush, it's as simple as that," he said. "Even travelling in the bush is something you shouldn't be doing unless you absolutely have to."

Many campers were told to leave the Grampians National Park, while others in private caravan parks packed up early or decided to leave in the evening.

"There's a bit of panic in the air, as you can imagine," said the manager of a camping ground at Halls Gap.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: AAP