Otways bushfire hit by wind change amid extreme fire danger in Victoria

Photo: ABC News / Geelong City Fire Brigade The Australian weather bureau is warning of continued fire danger on Wednesday in large parts of Victoria, despite temperatures beginning to cool. Multiple out-of-control bushfires continued to burn in Victoria overnight, and homes are feared destroyed in the Otways region following a day of record temperatures and extreme fire danger across the state on Tuesday. Firefighters have been working throughout the night to try to establish containment lines around the blaze burning in the Otways in the state's south-west, while several watch and act warnings remain in place for fires in the west and north-east. The Carlisle River blaze is currently moving north-easterly towards Gellibrand and Karwarren, with people being urged to take shelter now as it it is too late to leave. There were unconfirmed reports that three homes have been razed near the town Gellibrand in the Otways, where the Carlisle River bushfire, one of six major fires burning across the state, has been threatening communities for days. The state has sweltered through a heatwave over the past four days, and Alen Slijepcevicfrom from the Country Fire Authority said the dry conditions were fuelling the blazes. "With this intense heatwave that we have been having for the last five days in the north...everything is ready to burn now," he said. The firefighting effort reached a critical juncture, authorities say, after the wind change forecast to sweep through the Otways on Tuesday afternoon and bring gusts of up to 70 kilometres per hour arrived at about 5:30pm. Evacuation and shelter-in-place warnings had earlier been issued for several nearby communities. Photo: ABC News / Port Fairy Urban Fire Brigade Also of concern during extreme conditions on Tuesday were a grassfire that ignited north-east of Camperdown and another out-of-control fire west of the Grampians National Park. Forest Fire Management Victoria's Chris Hardman said the Otways fire was "running hard and fast" following the wind change. "Right now is the very worst period that we'll be facing," he told 9 News Melbourne on Tuesday evening. "Those winds could even get stronger than we're seeing currently." Authorities at about 6:30pm said the fire was travelling in a north-easterly direction towards the townships of Gellibrand and Kawarren and was likely to impact homes. Country Fire Authority Victoria chief agency commander Rohan Luke said the fire broke containment lines around 4:30pm just before the wind change. "Our crews at the moment are working extremely hard doing asset protection around the Gellibrand community," he said. Residents were urged to monitor emergency information as conditions changed. More than 1000 properties in the area of the blaze were also told to evacuate on Monday. Barwon Water on Tuesday night said fires had impacted the Gellibrand's water treatment plant and the town's water supply could be unsafe and potentially run out. "We are unable to guarantee safety or supply of water in Gellibrand," Barwon Water said. The water utility said it could not enter the fire zone to refill water tanks due to the fires. Speaking in the mid-afternoon, Colac Otway Shire chief executive Andrew Tenni said three properties around Gellibrand might have been lost in the fire. "We're hoping that there is no further loss of structures, but if the fire gets away, the direction that it's anticipated to go in will be across private property and may impact properties in its path," he said. Firefighting crews on Tuesday stared down temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius across the state, which is sweltering through its worst heatwave since 2009. A new all-time temperature record for Victoria was set on Tuesday afternoon when the mercury hit 48.9C in the towns of Walpeup and Hopetoun in the state's north. More than 80,000 customers were also without power across the state as night fell on Victoria - including in metropolitan Melbourne - with crews working to restore service. Electricity company Jemena, which services Melbourne's inner west and outer north-east, said high temperatures had caused the outages. Anxious night ahead in Lismore Authorities said the grassfire that ignited north-east of Camperdown split into "three fingers" following the wind change on Tuesday evening, travelling towards the town of Lismore. Residents in the town of several hundred were also told to take shelter before an emergency warning was downgraded at about 8:30pm. Virginia Elliot, who has a property south of Lismore, said she evacuated the area at about 2pm. "I could see huge plumes of black smoke from my bedroom window," she said. She said a neighbour, who works for the CFA, called her and told her to evacuate. "He was the reason that I left, and I was honestly thinking should I go, and he said 'yes'." Jess Archer, who manages the Lismore Hotel, said she got in her car on Tuesday evening and did a round-up of elderly people who...

Otways bushfire hit by wind change amid extreme fire danger in Victoria

Continue Reading on RNZ

How do you feel about this article?

📝 Article Information

Author

Original Publisher

Published Date

Disclaimer

Otways bushfire hit by wind change amid extreme fire danger in Victoria

Continue Reading on RNZ

How do you feel about this article?

📝 Article Information

Author

Original Publisher

Published Date

Disclaimer

More from RNZ