Firefighters continue to battle out-of-control bushfires in Australia’s Victoria

Sydney, Dec 26 (IANS) Firefighters were facing difficulty as they battled blazes across the Australian state of Victoria on Thursday and braced for further challenging conditions, Victoria Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent said.

A total fire ban was in place across Victoria, as high temperatures and strong winds were expected to create the worst conditions for bushfires seen in years, reports Xinhua news agency.

Nugent told reporters that gusty northerly winds were pushing some of the fire at the Grampians National Park south in Victoria.

“It’s also making it difficult for any new starts that occur across the state, which (we) have had a number of already,” he said.

“This will be followed by a change in wind conditions that will move across to the southwest … which, again, (makes) it really problematic for firefighters with any of those existing fires.”

The Grampians National Park fire has already burnt about 55,000 hectares of land, causing significant damage, including environmental damage, livestock losses, and damage to outbuildings and sheds.

“We have no reports as yet of residential homes (destroyed), but there are many residents (at the) Grampians, so I wouldn’t be surprised at some point if we do have residential losses,” he said.

Luke Heagerty from Victoria’s State Control Center said the situation at the Grampians was changing rapidly.

“We’ve seen significant fire development this afternoon as we anticipated, with that wind change really starting to affect parts of the fire ground,” he said.

“We’ve seen the expansion of the fire to the southeast this morning and early this afternoon with the northwesterly winds.”

He said this afternoon’s winds knocked down trees, which may impact people trying to leave the area.

Earlier on Friday, authorities confirmed that property losses were reported in Victoria as extreme heat and blustery conditions fanned up bushfires, especially in the state’s west.

“Now we are sadly hearing reports of property loss that are starting to come through given the active nature of the fire and the difficult terrain in the area,” Premier of Victoria Jacinta Allan said at the State Control Center.

Thursday saw an out-of-control bushfire at Bayindeen Rocky Road, sprawling to nearby communities.

As of Friday morning, the fire has burnt over 11,000 hectares in size, while two emergency warnings related to the blaze are currently in place, urging residents to leave immediately before conditions become too dangerous.

–IANS

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