Residents in Australia’s Victoria urged to evacuate as bushfire conditions worsen
Sydney, Dec 25 (IANS/GURPUNEET SIDHU) Authorities of Australia’s state of Victoria have issued an emergency warning to residents in the Grampians mountain range to evacuate as the bushfire conditions continue to worsen.
VicEmergency issued a fire warning on Wednesday afternoon to urge residents in Moyston and Pomonal, two towns in western Victoria, to leave immediately as the bushfire at Grampians National Park continues to burn.
“There is a bushfire at Grampians National Park, Yarram Gap Road that is not yet under control,” said VicEmergency, adding that leaving immediately is the safest option before conditions become too dangerous.
VicEmergency also warned in a statement on Wednesday that bushfires burning across Victoria will create Extreme Fire conditions on Thursday, which it describes as the worst across the state since Black Summer in 2019-2020.
If fire is rated as Extreme Fire Danger, it will spread quickly and be extremely dangerous.
It is predicted that hot and windy conditions will start early from 10 am on Thursday and continue through the day and night until at least Friday morning, Xinhua news agency reported.
The fire, which was sparked by lightning on December 16, has burnt through some 41,000 hectares of land as of Monday due to high temperatures and strong wind.
Communities and fire crews in Australia have been preparing for several days of extreme bushfire danger.
Several out of control fires continued to burn in the southeastern state of Victoria this week despite more favourable conditions for firefighters.
With temperatures forecast to exceed 40 degrees Celsius on Thursday, Victorians have been advised to brace for catastrophic fire conditions.
Residents of communities that were evacuated over the weekend due to the threat posed by a major fire in the Grampians National Park, about 230 km west of Melbourne, were allowed to return to their homes for two hours on Tuesday morning to collect their belongings.
Four interstate firefighting task forces and two emergency management teams are expected to arrive in Victoria on Thursday to aid the hundreds of local firefighters who have been working to contain the Grampians blaze.
The Country Fire Authority had advised anyone who can avoid traveling through affected areas over the Christmas period to do so.
Elsewhere in Australia, several small bush and grass fires in the state of New South Wales have continued to burn but were under control.
In South Australia, residents of the outer-southern Adelaide suburb of Onkaparinga Hills were urged to leave on Monday evening as firefighters battled an out-of-control bushfire. The emergency warning was downgraded on Monday night.
