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Australia fires: Victoria issues code red bushfire warning amid thunderstorm asthma threat
Australia fires: record-breaking temperatures fuel bushfires across the country
(about 5 hours later)
Temperatures top 40C in state’s north as up to 11 properties hit by fire in South Australia, while NSW and Tasmania face worsening conditions
Temperatures top 40C in Victoria’s north as up to 11 properties hit by fire in South Australia, while NSW and Tasmania face difficult conditions
Out-of-control bushfires are raging in central parts of Victoria as strong winds pick up, causing a regional town to turn orange in a haze of dust. Meanwhile, more than 30 people have been treated for minor injuries, and homes and sheds have been destroyed as authorities continue to battle a dangerous bushfire on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula.
Record-breaking spring temperatures helped spark and fan bushfires across the country on Thursday, forecasting a potentially devastating bushfire summer.
Victoria’s highest bushfire warning – code red – was issued for central and north-western parts of the state on Thursday.
In Victoria, 100km/h winds fanned more than 60 blazes, as an unprecedented heatwave moved north to south, drawing comparisons with the “worst conditions you’d see in February or March” from the state’s emergency services minister Lisa Neville.
An out-of-control bushfire in Bonn and Strathallan was threatening homes, with residents told it was too late to leave. It was in the area declared code red.
“This shows us what the risks will be in summer around Victoria, so we still have a long way to go to be ready.”
“You are in danger, act now to protect yourself. It is too late to leave. The safest option is to take shelter indoors immediately,” the warning states.
Neville said emergency services crews were equipped and trained for the difficult forecast summer, but she said she was concerned about residents of bushfire-prone areas being properly prepared.
Victoria was under a total fire ban on Thursday with temperatures expected to top 40C in the state’s north and fears that forecast thunderstorm asthma would put lives at risk.
“One of the things we felt earlier this year out of the fires that happened over the summer was that there was a level of complacency.”
Victorians facing code red bushfire conditions were told their houses were not built to withstand them and they should get to major cities if they can.
A fire near Yorketown on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula was sparked by a network power fault, local authorities revealed on Thursday.
Temperatures had already tipped into the 40s across some parts of the state, with Swan Hill just shy of 44C and Mildura at 40.6C, but winds were still ripping through.
The blaze forced the evacuation of towns, destroyed homes and crops, and injured more than 30 people. More than 60 fires burned across the state on Wednesday, fanned by soaring temperatures and high winds.
“It is hot windy and dusty up in the north-west,” the Bureau of Meteorology’s Rod Dickson said, adding that down south the cool change was beginning to move through.
At least 11 properties had been affected by the fire but the full extent of the losses was still to be determined.
Melbourne matched its hottest November day on record, hitting 40.9C.
Residents in Mildura saw the town turn orange as a dust storm hit on Thursday.
More than 80,000 customers were without power in the western part of the state, with Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat hardest hit, service provider Powercor said.
Crews were responding to more than 22 fallen powerlines and 130-plus separate faults across the state which were being impacted by the extreme winds.
“Due to the number of faults, extreme weather conditions and the need to be able to restore power safely, restoration times may be longer than usual,” a statement says.
Not everyone had got the message about the fire danger. A 43-year-old man was expected be charged on summons after allegedly lighting a fire to clear timber and rubbish at 10pm on Wednesday.
On Thursday the emergency management commissioner, Andrew Crisp, warned that a southerly change expected to hit Victoria in the afternoon could potentially make conditions more difficult for firefighters and dry lightning could spark fires.
All public parks in the code red areas were closed, and more than 200 schools and early learning childhood centres were closed across the state.
“Homes are not built to withstand the types of fires we may see on a code red day and you don’t want to be caught travelling through areas on fire at the last minute if you wait and see,” the Country Fire Authority chief officer, Steve Warrington, said.
Along with possible bushfires, the National Asthma Council Australia forecast Thursday’s pollen count in Victoria to be “extreme”. The alert coincided with the third anniversary of the thunderstorm asthma event that claimed 10 lives on 21 November 2016.
“Today’s anniversary is a reminder that the risk is real,” the National Asthma Council Australia chief executive, Siobhan Brophy, said. “Any serious asthma attack can be life-threatening and have devastating consequences.
“People do not need to be in the immediate area of a fire to suffer from the effect of smoke on their lungs. Wherever smoke haze is visible, it is a threat to those with asthma.”
In South Australia the rapid spread of a dangerous bushfire had been halted on the Yorke Peninsula but authorities warned that the blaze was yet to be contained.
The chief officer, Mark Jones, said while the worst was over, fire crews still held concerns for two towns in the fire’s path.
The blaze had already burnt through about 4,500 hectares.
“We’ve commissioned a large aerial tanker from NSW today to lay a protective fire line on the fire which is spreading towards Coobowie,” Jones said on Thursday. “Our crews are holding the fire on the outskirts of Edithburgh and doing a great job there.
“Our partner agencies have been fantastic and our combined effort means there’s no recorded loss of life yet, which is a remarkable outcome given the unprecedented conditions faced by the state yesterday.”
The police commissioner, Grant Stevens, said at least 11 properties had been affected by the fire but the full extent of the losses was still to be determined.
He said 33 people had been treated for minor issues, some for minor burns or smoke inhalation and some who required eye washing.
At the height of the emergency, the Yorke Peninsula mayor, Darren Braund, said many residents had taken shelter overnight in the Edithburgh Town Hall but had been told to leave.
At the height of the emergency, the Yorke Peninsula mayor, Darren Braund, said many residents had taken shelter overnight in the Edithburgh Town Hall but had been told to leave.
“People are very worried, a lot of anxious people, hoping their properties are OK,” Braund told the Adelaide Advertiser. “There were warnings throughout the night from Country Fire Service, all of a sudden the wind changed. From what I understand, the fire jumped containment lines, that’s when it got very dangerous.”
“People are very worried, a lot of anxious people, hoping their properties are OK,” Braund told the Adelaide Advertiser.
The blaze and the shifting weather also pushed large amounts of smoke over Adelaide, which was blanketed by a thick haze until mid-morning on Thursday. SA Health said the smoke posed a risk to people, especially those with pre-existing heart and chest conditions.
“There were warnings throughout the night from Country Fire Service, all of a sudden the wind changed. From what I understand, the fire jumped containment lines, that’s when it got very dangerous.”
The Yorketown fire was one of more than 40 which broke out across SA on Wednesday amid catastrophic conditions, with soaring temperatures and high winds.
Victoria’s most extreme bushfire warning – code red – was issued for central and northwestern region, and a fire ban imposed across the state.
A cool change moved across the state early on Thursday, dropping temperatures into the mid-20s, but also brought the wind change, which caused problems for firefighters who had battled through the night to protect local properties.
Melbourne’s maximum temperature of 40.9C matched the 1894 record for hottest November day. Laverton was the hottest place in Victoria at 44.3 degrees.
In the Yorketown fire, early reports suggested several homes had been lost, along with sheds and other property. There have been no reports of any injuries.
In Mildura, a thick haze of red-earth dust blanketed the city – the regular duststorms a consequence of drought – and in the west of Victoria, more than 80,000 homes were left without power after a network failure which also sparked a fire.
“At this point in time we don’t have accurate figures in relation to structure losses,” South Australia’s commissioner of police, Grant Stevens, said. “We do believe there are 11 properties that have been affected. But the rapid damage assessment teams are moving into the fire ground now.”
A storm which moved across the state caused widespread damage. The state emergency services received more than 1600 calls for assistance, 1300 concerning felled trees.
In NSW, heavy smoke was blanketing large parts of the state. People with breathing difficulties were advised to stay indoors, avoid exercise and use reliever medicine if appropriate.
Fires continue to burn across NSW. Already this season, six people have died in NSW fires, and 612 homes have been destroyed.
Total fire bans were in force on Thursday for the Illawarra/Shoalhaven, far south coast, Monaro Alpine, southern ranges, central ranges, northern slopes, north-western, southern slopes and Riverina regions.
The state’s Rural Fire Service said there were currently 59 bush and grass fires burning across the state at 5pm, with 29 still to be contained. Only one fire, at Bora Ridge in the north of the state, is at emergency warning level.
On Wednesday evening there were 49 bush and grass fires burning across NSW, with 25 uncontained. The Rural Fire Service conducted backburning on Wednesday night to protect properties ahead of worsening fire conditions expected on Thursday.
There are no total fire bans in place in NSW for Friday, but there is a high fire danger forecast, and warm weather is set to continue.
The Tasmanian Fire Service also imposed a total fire ban for much of the state on Thursday due to forecast hot and windy conditions. The affected areas include Hobart, Launceston, the Derwent Valley, northern midlands, southern midlands, Flinders and George Town.
The smoke haze which blanketed Sydney much of the day is expected to remain, but will clear overnight and tomorrow morning with a wind change. Forecasters are expecting the smoke to return at the weekend.
The fire danger in the large areas of the south and east of Tasmania on Thursday was rated severe.
The Bureau of Meteorology said a number of locations in South Australia broke November heat records, including Lameroo at 44C, Murray Bridge at 45.3C and Nullarbor at 46.6C.
In Tasmania, Hobart equalled its hottest ever November day, while the statewide top temp of 38.3C at Campania was just 0.2C lower than the November record for any place in the state. Two fires continue to burn in that state.
Cooler conditions heading into Thursday evening were expected to help contain all bushfires still being patrolled by firefighters in Victoria. However, Emergency Victoria encouraged people to stay alert.
A fire near Ballarat that was at emergency level was also downgraded to a “watch and act” warning.
The fire was heading towards Dunac, but water-bombing from helicopters and aircraft helped contain it.
“It was horrific almost, there was branches coming down all over the place, the wind was blowing, it was hot,” farmer Tom Davies said from Dunac.
“For a fire day you wouldn’t have got much worse.”
Davies has lived and worked in the Dunac area all his life, but can’t remember another day like this ever happening so early in the summer.
“No, I don’t think so. For a serious fire like we’ve just had, I think this would be about the earliest I’ve seen it,” he said.
“Generally you don’t get a day like we’ve just had until after Christmas.”
