Residents in parts of Victoria are being urged to evacuate ahead of Thursday’s catastrophic bushfire danger, with a code red day declared for the Mallee and Northern Country districts.
It’s the first time since 2010 authorities have enacted a code red in those regions and firefighters warn they will not be able to control blazes once they take hold in those high-risk areas.
A day of total fire ban has been declared across Victoria — the first time this year it has been in place statewide.
CLICK HERE TO FIND YOUR FIRE DISTRICT
In the Mallee and Northern Districts, people should leave immediately and spend the day elsewhere, Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said.
“If you do not need to be in your home on a day like that, you should not be. You should look at getting out first thing (Wednesday) or first thing (Thursday),” he said.
Some schools and early childhood centres will be closed in those areas as a result of the fire danger.
The period of highest fire risk was expected to be between 11am and 3pm.
During that four-hour window, fires would be uncontrollable, unpredictable and fast moving, Mr Crisp said.
He said fire crews would find fires difficult to control and there was a high likelihood people in their path would be killed or seriously injured.
“These are potentially the worst conditions we’ve confronted for quite some time,” he said.
Mr Crisp said conditions in parts of the state were comparable to the Black Saturday 2009 disaster.
The difference was the Black Saturday fire risk applied for the entire state, whereas tomorrow’s severe warning was specific to the Mallee and northern districts.
CFA chief officer Steve Warrington said the deadly bushfires ravaging NSW highlighted how quickly blazes can turn into “campaign fires”.
Victoria is one of the most fire-prone areas in the world. Bushfires and grassfires start quickly, often without warning and they can threaten lives and properties within minutes
He said fire crews would be doing all they can to avoid a similar situation.
“We want to lock the state down and make sure there are no new fire starts,” he said.
“We will hit fires hard and fast and make sure they don’t turn into campaign fires. We cannot afford this country to have more campaign fires.”
Hot, dry and windy conditions are expected for much of the state, with some towns in the state’s north and west forecast to reach temperatures in the low 40Cs.
MORE NEWS
OVERLAND STEPS AWAY AS COUNCIL BOSS
NOTORIOUS AU PAIR ACCUSED OF POSING AS NURSE
The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting “oppressive conditions” night ahead with the low temperature overnight staying at about the mid-20Cs overnight for much of Victoria.
Melbourne will hit a high of 39C tomorrow, before a noticeable cool change reaches the city about 3pm or 4pm.
“We are looking at a dramatic drop in temperature potentially 15C to 20C in just an hour,” the bureau’s Michael Efron said.
Damaging winds are due to hit the Bayside area, with gusts reaching up to 100kmh.
Read Again https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiqwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5oZXJhbGRzdW4uY29tLmF1L25ld3MvdmljdG9yaWEvbWFsbGVlLW5vcnRoZXJuLWNvdW50cnktcmVzaWRlbnRzLXVyZ2VkLXRvLWV2YWN1YXRlLWVhcmx5LWFtaWQtY29kZS1yZWQtZmlyZS13YXJuaW5nL25ld3Mtc3RvcnkvZTM2NjQyYmY0NTdkYzBlNjI5NWI2MGI1N2FkY2QyNzLSAQA?oc=5Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Mallee, Northern Country residents urged to evacuate early amid code red fire warning - Herald Sun"
Post a Comment