SYDNEY: Tens of thousands of residents in southeastern Australia were told to evacuate on Wednesday due to an intense heatwave that authorities said could further spread a massive bushfire in Victoria state, which is facing its worst conditions in four years. Extreme fire classifications have been issued for large parts of Victoria with the Wimmera region in the west receiving a catastrophic rating, the highest level of warning. Mildura, a rural town of about 56,000, could touch 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit), the Bureau of Meteorology said.
A zone of potential fire impact covering several rural towns has been identified as officials there urged about 30,000 residents to evacuate their homes by Wednesday morning. “Today is going to be a very challenging day for the fire service,” Jason Heffernan, Victoria’s chief fire officer, told ABC television. “Today is one of those days where communities may need immediate action on a very short notice.” Hundreds of firefighters were still battling the massive blaze near the town of Ballarat, 95 km (60 miles) west of Melbourne.
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The fire, which has been burning since last Thursday, has already destroyed six houses, killed livestock and burned more than 20,000 hectares (200 square kilometers). A heat wave is expected to roll out of inland Australia and move across Victoria before likely moving east into the state of New South Wales on Thursday. Total fire bans are in place in several cities, including Melbourne. Dry lightning could ignite new fires, while strong winds forecast from Wednesday afternoon could spread an existing one near Ballarat, Heffernan said.
Heffernan urged people to reconsider any decision to stay back and protect their homes. “If your property isn’t perfectly prepared and you don’t have firefighting resources available and you’re not fit and you’re not mentally able to sustain a prolonged firefight my strong advice to the community is to leave early,” he said.
