Over 700 firefighters have continued to battle a major out-of-control bushfire in Victoria’s west that has been burning since Thursday, with experts saying that in the coming week as conditions worsen the blaze could become the “worst fire day Victoria has seen in four years.” Thankfully there has been no casualties so far.
Crews of firefighters are currently trying to fight the blaze that has charred nearly 16,000 hectares of land west of Ballarat using water-bombing aircraft. So far a total of three homes are confirmed to have been destroyed.
In a statement on the natural disaster, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan shared that due to the immense scale of the fire that it is uncertain how long it will burn for.
“It’s a big fire that’s already burned a lot of land, but it also is continuing to burn and will burn for a number of days and weeks ahead,” said the Victorian Premier.
Allan also gave a warning that the worst might be yet to come, with the temperature in the area predicted to hit 36 degrees on Wednesday.
“It is looking like Wednesday into Thursday is going to be a very dangerous and difficult day across Victoria with that combination of extreme heat, high winds and dry lightning moving throughout the state,” Allan warned.
The fire in our state’s west has now burnt more than 14,000 hectares.
— Jacinta Allan (@JacintaAllanMP) February 23, 2024
‘Leave immediately’ and ‘not safe to return’ warnings are still in place for a number of communities. pic.twitter.com/HafP8pGtBc
Country Fire Authority (CFA) chief Jason Heffernan congratulated the community on their swift response, but echoed Allan’s warning with a much more dire prediction for the upcoming Wednesday.
“It could quite potentially be the worst fire day Victoria has seen in four years,” Herffernan stated.
“I sincerely hope we see a breakdown in that weather pattern over the next couple of days and and the conditions will be much cooler.”
People living in areas close to the inferno have been forced to evacuate, and told that it is “not safe to return” by authorities. Those locations include the western Victorian towns and areas of:
- Bayindeen
- Beaufort
- Ben Nevis
- Buangor
- Chute
- Elmhurst
- Eversley
- Glenlogie
- Main Lead
- Middle Creek
- Mount Cole
- Mount Cole Creek
- Mount Lonarch
- Raglan
- Warrak
- Waterloo
- Glenlofty
- Nowhere Creek
As a result of being warned and having an early evacuation, the bushfire has not caused any casualties as of yet.
Locals have been warned to keep on alert for updates and stay clear of the area.
To stay updated, view the Victorian Emergency Incidents and Warnings site here.
[Image: Nine News]
