Firefighters are battling to contain a blaze burning out of control at the Grampians National Park in Victoria’s west as authorities warn it could rage for weeks.
The fire have already destroyed more than 40,000hectares of land and is expected to continue to spread into early 2025, with temperatures expected to go even higher later this week.
Forecasters expect the temperature to soar over 40C across Victoria on Thursday and wind speeds to reach between 70 and 80km/h.
Country Fire Authority Chief Officer Jason Heffernan has warned such strong winds would make fighting blazes a challenge.
‘We did not see those winter rains. We didn’t see those spring rains, which has led to the bush land areas being exceptionally dry,’ he said.
Mr Heffernan said any new fires sparked due to the extreme fire risk were a ‘major concern’.
‘Follow the strict conditions associated with the total fire ban declaration and understand how the increased fire risk will impact you, and ensure your fire plan covers all possible contingencies,’ he said.
Residents near a bushfire in the Grampians were allowed a short time to briefly go home briefly to collect belongings on Christmas Eve.
A bushfire is pictured burning in the Grampians in Victoria as the state braces for worse to come
But not safe to return orders were issued for Bellfield, Bellfield Settlement, Flat Rock Crossing, Fyans Creek, Grampians Junction, and Halls Gap on Christmas Day.
There are 18 fire bombing aircraft and 300 firefighters currently operating in Victoria, including more than 100 who have come from NSW, Queensland, ACT and Tasmania.
A scorching blast of hot weather is predicted to intensify across Australia’s south and east bringing extreme fire dangers and total fire bans from Christmas onwards.
Victoria faces its worst fire risk since 2019’s Black Summer with extreme fire dangers in all but one region, leading to a total fire ban for the state on Boxing Day.
No fires can be lit or be allowed to remain alight in the open air in Victoria from 12.01am on Thursday, December 26 until 11.59pm on Thursday night.
South Australians will swelter on Christmas Day with Adelaide set to record its hottest Christmas since 2016, as temperatures reach the high-30s to low 40s across the state.
Parts of the state face extreme fire dangers with total fire bans declared in the Mount Lofty Ranges and the west coast region on Wednesday.
South Australia is in one of the driest periods on record, Country Fire Service chief officer Brett Loughlin said, warning fires can spread rapidly.
The fires have already destroyed more than 40,000hectares of land and are expected to spread into early 2025, with temperatures expected to go even higher later this week
‘All we need is heat and wind to combine to create conditions for total fire bans and high risk fire weather,’ Mr Loughlin said.
The state’s premier Peter Malinauskas has urged people to enjoy their Christmas holidays but to act sensibly and cautiously if they are in bushfire zones.
Extreme fire risks will shift towards the state’s east and across the boarder on Boxing Day as a cool change sweeps in from the west.
After a dry, sunny and warm Christmas, Victorians should expect to see temperatures to rise into the 40s on Thursday, Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Sarah Scully said.
High temperatures bring increased risk of serious heat-related illnesses, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke, Ambulance Victoria Emergency Management Director Dale Armstrong warned.
Heat stroke is fatal in up to 80 per cent of cases.
‘Most at risk are elderly people, young children and those with medical conditions, however heat and heat-related illnesses can affect anybody,’ Mr Dale said.
Victorians are being urged to prepare for outages with provider AusNet warning power faults could be triggered to prevent bushfires starting.
A total statewide fire ban has been declared for Victoria for Boxing Day (notice pictured)
‘If a fault occurs on Thursday, it may mean longer outages as we need to do additional checks and patrols to make sure it’s safe to turn the power back on,’ a spokeswoman said.
As a cool change washes over Victoria on Friday, the extreme fire dangers will push into NSW.
Parts of southern NSW including Wagga Wagga will see the mercury get as high as 39C.
Sydney CBD will get to 29C on Thursday, but the temperature is expected to soar on Friday with a peak of 37C.
The city’s western suburbs will get it much worse though, with an anticipated high of 41C on Boxing Day in Penrith.
Canberra is expected to reach 35C, with Brisbane facing temperatures in the low 30s on Thursday before an expected 37C on Friday.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk