An out-of-control bushfire is threatening homes in Melbourne’s north and firefighters are contending with catastrophic dangers in Victoria’s western region on a horror day fuelled by an extreme heatwave.
An emergency warning has been issued for residents in Bundoora, Greensborough and Mill Park as the fire moves rapidly south from Jubilee Court in Mill Park, through parkland towards the Metropolitan Ring Road.
The winds are manic and hot like we’re in an oven. Used to feeling this near rural bushfires but this is Bundoora in Melbourne’s north. @abcnews @abcmelbourne pic.twitter.com/BLhP5ujSG5
— Emilia Terzon (@EmiliaTerzon) December 30, 2019
Residents have been told it is too late to flee the bushfire in the city’s northeast and to take shelter immediately.
“You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive,” the warning said
It covers people north of the Metropolitan Ring Road, between Scholar Drive And Booyan Court.
The fire is travelling south from Jubilee Crescent towards Cloverton Way.
Ambulance Victoria said that two people have been treated at the scene for non-life threatening injuries.
Water bomber over the fire in #Bundoora. Ambulance Vic say two people are being treated at the scene for non-life threatening injuries. @9NewsMelb @9NewsAUS pic.twitter.com/tzbgxvAgW5
— Gillian Lantouris (@gillianlant) December 30, 2019
Meanwhile flames as high as 20m have confronted fire crews battling catastrophic dangers in Victoria’s west, with 14km high smoke columns creating fire-generated thunderstorms.
The worst is yet to come with a dangerous wind change not expected to sweep fire grounds across Victoria until around midnight on Monday.
Thousands have already fled their homes after warnings scorching temperatures would fan searing bushfires across southern parts of the country.
For those who stayed behind, authorities fear it is now too late to leave parts of Victoria as firefighters brace for blistering winds to batter the parched countryside.
Victoria is bracing for the potentially ferocious wind change to bring gusts up to 120 km/h, the weather bureau has warned.
The dangerous wind shift is expected to create damaging conditions and remain a risk across eastern parts of Victoria into Tuesday morning.
A total fire ban is in place across the state, and multiple emergency warnings in place have been issued in the East Gippsland region.
Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said it was a “high-risk day” in Victoria and those still in left Lakes Entrance may now be stuck there.
“We’ve just – we recently looked at the columns, and they’re generating their own weather,” Mr Crisp said.
“There’s lightning coming out of these columns. It is unpredictable, it’s dangerous out there, and people need to stay tuned to their local conditions and stay across that good information so they can make good decisions.
In South Australia, fires continue to burn on Kangaroo Island and a catastrophic danger has been declared for the Adelaide Metropolitan, Yorke Peninsula, Mount Lofty Ranges and the state’s Mid North.
Adelaide is forecast to reach 40C and firefighters are particularly worried about the potential for breakouts in the blaze burning in the Adelaide Hills.
Severe thunderstorm warnings have also been issued for parts of the South Australian coast, adding to the risk of bushfires from lightning strikes.
In NSW, a fire-generated thunderstorm (pyro-cumulonimbus) has formed over the Badja Forest Road and Tuross Falls Road fires, northwest of Cobargo.
A pyro-cumulonimbus can create erratic winds and dry lightning and result in significantly faster fire spread.
Across NSW, more than 900 homes have been destroyed but that number is expected to increase with rising temperatures and dry winds forecast to peak on New Year’s Eve.
Temperatures are forecast to climb past 40C in western Sydney and parts of regional NSW by Tuesday, as air pollution in the city’s southwest remains at a hazardous level.
In Tasmania, residents are urged to remain on high alert as scorching temperatures combined with forecast thunderstorms and winds increase fire risk.
-with AAP
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