A “catastrophic” fire warning is now in place for parts of Victoria and two out-of-control bushfires continue to spread, as authorities warn of “dangerous” conditions to come.
A total fire ban has been declared for the state, with severe winds and temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius forecast across large areas.Â
The Northern Country, North Central, Wimmera and South West districts have been given “catastrophic” fire risk ratings, while the rest of Victoria has an “extreme” risk which authorities yesterday described as being at the upper end of the rating.
All regions of Victoria either have a catastrophic or extreme bushfire rating. (Supplied: CFA)
Emergency warnings continue for numerous communities as a bushfire near Longwood in central Victoria burns through nearly 30,000 hectares, with homes in the small town of Ruffy feared to have been lost.
Emergency warnings are also in place for a bushfire burning in north-east Victoria in the Mt Lawson National Park, near Walwa.
Dozens of towns surrounding these fires have been told to evacuate, as authorities predict dry lightning strikes may cause additional blazes in other parts of Victoria.
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The CFA said lightning had already caused multiple fires north of Orbost in East Gippsland on Thursday night, with an advice warning in place for surrounding towns.Â
Forest Fire Management deputy incident controller Dave Jensen said forecast thunderstorms were expected to increase the potential for dry lightning, which could result in further ignitions.
He said these were conditions that had not been seen since the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20.
The Longwood fire had grown on Thursday to nearly 30,000 hectares. (Supplied: VicEmergency)
Forest Fire Management chief fire officer Chris Hardman said it was not safe to be in bushland at all tomorrow and urged tourists to stay away.
“It is just too dangerous,” he said.
“It is not survivable, radiant heat kills … you will be killed before the fire gets to you in these conditions.”
A number of popular tourist spots along the 240-kilometre stretch of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road have closed for the day, and all V/Line and coach services operating in catastrophic fire regions have been cancelled.
Chris Miller from the Department of Transport said the Hume Freeway remained closed in both directions between Seymour and Violet Town, near where the Longwood fire was burning.
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He has advised motorists to avoid the area all together.
“Please don’t trust satellite navigation in this instance. Don’t try to find short cuts because you could end up driving straight into a fire front,” he said.
Victorian electricity distributor Powercor has strongly urged customers to plan ahead for today’s extreme weather.
Powercor network emergency manager Steve Rigoni said the forecast winds and lightning could damage electricity assets.
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“Tomorrow’s conditions are among the most severe we’ve faced in a long time. We’re asking everyone to act now — charge devices, prepare backup plans and make sure you’re ready,” Mr Rigoni said.
“Our priority is community safety. We’ll be operating our network on highly sensitive settings to reduce the risk of starting fires. This means power may be affected if faults occur.”
For more information on the latest fire warnings for Victoria, visit the VicEmergency website.