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Australia fires live: NSW, Victoria and SA bushfires rage as PM calls up ADF reserve – latest updates Australia fires live: NSW, Victoria and SA bushfires rage as PM calls up ADF reserve – latest updates
(32 minutes later)
Scott Morrison has called up ADF reservists to help in the bushfire crisis. Two people have died in SA fires on Kangaroo Island, as New South Wales and Victoria face more horrendous conditions. Follow live news and latest updatesScott Morrison has called up ADF reservists to help in the bushfire crisis. Two people have died in SA fires on Kangaroo Island, as New South Wales and Victoria face more horrendous conditions. Follow live news and latest updates
We are getting reports that people are being moved from evacuation centres in Eden, on NSW’s far south coast, towards Merimbula. Fires burning just north of the Victorian border, including the Poole Rd fire, are spreading quickly and emergency warnings have been issued. The southerly change is generally moving those fires on the NSW-Victorian border to the north.
For those in the Canberra, ABC reporter Markus Mannheim has just created a handy map illustrating the city’s bushfire-prone areas. It covers a large chunk of the bush capital.
The ACT has so far avoided the bushfire crisis plaguing much of neighbouring NSW, though the smoke haze has continued to create significant air quality issues. Those in Canberra will keenly remember - as I do - the horrific events of 2003, which were the result of out-of-control fires that burned to the south-west and west of the city for more than a week.
Fires are worsening in some areas of Victoria. We’ve just seen two emergency warnings issued by Victorian authorities. The first is for Buchan and Buchan South. Authorities say it is now too late to leave. Residents should shelter indoors and activate their bushfire survival plans.
Another emergency warning was issued for Brookville and Omeo, in the state’s east. It is too late to leave these areas. Residents should shelter indoors immediately.
Power outages are continuing across NSW. Ausgrid reports that power is out for some homes in Fletcher and Wallsend, suburbs of Newcastle.
A little earlier, it said the outages were affecting 14,000 customers, primarily in Sydney’s north and south-west. But it has since restored power to some areas, including Hornsby, Normanhurst, Bexley North, Campsie, Canterbury and surrounding suburbs.
Our reporter Helen Davidson was in Nowra a little earlier when that southerly swept through. The conditions precipitating the change were ferocious. It brought strong wind gusts and a sudden change in the sky.
Jessie Davies, an ABC reporter, was also there and posted this footage showing the terrifying conditions.
Bushfire evacuees have begun to arrive in Melbourne after fleeing the devastating bushfires in East Gippsland. They are arriving at a relief centre in Somerville, after being evacuated aboard HMAS Choules. The Navy vessel was was deployed to help the thousands of people stranded in the remote Victorian coastal town of Mallacoota.
Some have a clear message for the federal government.
Authorities in Victoria have just issued an emergency warning for Benambra, The Brothers, Tom Groggin, Uplands. Those fires are near Omeo, 430 kilometres east of Melbourne.Authorities in Victoria have just issued an emergency warning for Benambra, The Brothers, Tom Groggin, Uplands. Those fires are near Omeo, 430 kilometres east of Melbourne.
Leaving now is the safest option.Leaving now is the safest option.
Some extraordinary footage in NSW, where bushfires continue to generate their own weather systems. This vision shows the forming of pyrocumulous clouds above the Currowan fire burning in the Southern Highlands region about an hour ago.Some extraordinary footage in NSW, where bushfires continue to generate their own weather systems. This vision shows the forming of pyrocumulous clouds above the Currowan fire burning in the Southern Highlands region about an hour ago.
Fitzsimmons has some semblance of good news, at least. We should see conditions ease overnight and tomorrow morning, once this southerly moves through. But we will see conditions worsen later in the week, when temperatures will climb back into the 40s.Fitzsimmons has some semblance of good news, at least. We should see conditions ease overnight and tomorrow morning, once this southerly moves through. But we will see conditions worsen later in the week, when temperatures will climb back into the 40s.
It hardly needs saying, but there is of course another total fire ban in NSW tomorrow, despite the slight easing in conditions.It hardly needs saying, but there is of course another total fire ban in NSW tomorrow, despite the slight easing in conditions.
Fitzsimmons has a grim message for what we should expect to find when we wake tomorrow morning. It will only be then that the full extent of the damage is known.Fitzsimmons has a grim message for what we should expect to find when we wake tomorrow morning. It will only be then that the full extent of the damage is known.
The NSW RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons has just given another update on the ABC. He says the southerly change is having a complicated impact on active fires across the state.The NSW RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons has just given another update on the ABC. He says the southerly change is having a complicated impact on active fires across the state.
Scott Morrison has heard some pretty frank views from those on the ground in recent days about his response to the bushfire crisis.Scott Morrison has heard some pretty frank views from those on the ground in recent days about his response to the bushfire crisis.
Perhaps none as direct as this, though. An RFS member in Nelligen, just north of Batemans Bay on the hard hit NSW South Coast, pulled up to a news crew on the side of the road, leaned out the window, and told the prime minister to “go and get fucked”. Vision is below.Perhaps none as direct as this, though. An RFS member in Nelligen, just north of Batemans Bay on the hard hit NSW South Coast, pulled up to a news crew on the side of the road, leaned out the window, and told the prime minister to “go and get fucked”. Vision is below.
Global superstar Pink has offered $500,000 to Australian fire services battling bushfires on the frontline. Pink said she was “devastated” at the horrific bushfires tearing across Australia. It’s a pretty extraordinary gesture. She’s also encouraged her millions of fans to donate too.Global superstar Pink has offered $500,000 to Australian fire services battling bushfires on the frontline. Pink said she was “devastated” at the horrific bushfires tearing across Australia. It’s a pretty extraordinary gesture. She’s also encouraged her millions of fans to donate too.
Some good news out of Victoria. The bushfire around Dargo and Tabberabbera, in the state’s east, has been downgraded from emergency warning to watch and act, after conditions eased.Some good news out of Victoria. The bushfire around Dargo and Tabberabbera, in the state’s east, has been downgraded from emergency warning to watch and act, after conditions eased.
The RFS is reporting that southerly change is causing wind gusts of up to 75km/h near Nowra.The RFS is reporting that southerly change is causing wind gusts of up to 75km/h near Nowra.
It has warned the change will push many fires generally in a more northerly direction. It will create dangerous conditions.It has warned the change will push many fires generally in a more northerly direction. It will create dangerous conditions.
Reporter Helen Davidson is just south of Nowra. That southerly change sweeping up the NSW coast has just hit. The wind gusts are fierce. The vision is scary.
Mike Bowers and Michael McGowan are still out near the fire front at the Snowies, near Adaminaby. They report the fire has broken out of the National Park along the Yaouk Road, to the town’s north.
Just a little more on the power outages in NSW. The extreme heat conditions are causing power outages across NSW, including parts of Sydney. In Hornsby and Normanhurst, power outages are expected to last until about 8pm.
Crews are also working to restore power in Bexley North and Kingsgrove, Campsie, Canterbury and Earlwood.
Authorities are strongly advising residents to avoid unnecessary power use. Do you need your air conditioning on full bore? Is your pool pump operating unnecessarily? It’s time to start thinking about how you can reduce demand on the grid.
Hi everyone, it’s Christopher Knaus here taking over our live coverage for the evening.
It will be a nervous night, particularly for those on the NSW South Coast and in the Snowy Mountains region, where, in some places, the vast, out-of-control bushfires have blackened the sky hours before nightfall.
The NSW RFS incident map paints a terrifying picture as we head into the night.
There are roughly 150 fires burning across NSW. Thirteen emergency warnings have been issued for fires, largely on the NSW south coast, but also for the Dunns Road and East Ournie Creek fires in the Snowy Valleys. The vast Green Wattle Creek fire is threatening to creep towards towns in the southern highlands, including Mittagong, as well as Wombeyan Caves, Bullio, Joadja and surrounding areas.
A southerly change continues to move slowly up the NSW coast, bringing with it strong wind gusts - forecast to reach up to 90km/h - and considerable uncertainty as fire fronts shift and change. The southerly most recently reached the Ulladulla and Jervis Bay regions. Early reports suggest the winds have not been as strong as first feared.
In Victoria, about 53 fires continue to burn this evening, particularly in Gippsland region. In Corryong, reports suggest that homes have been lost. That fire continues to cause considerable concern, as do fires in Mount Buffalo, Mount Hotham, and East Gippsland.
We still have reporters and photographers across the worst hit areas to bring you up to speed on the latest developments. Stay with us.
It’s been a big day, with a challenging night to come.
Let’s take stock.
There were two confirmed fatalities on Kangaroo Island, with the blaze also wiping out much of the national park.
Substantial fires continue to burn in NSW and Victoria, and authorities warn conditions tonight remain dangerous. Fire thunderstorms have formed both on the south coast and the Snowy. There could also be power disruptions because of damage to substations in the Snowy region. Authorities have requested people take pressure off the system when they can by reducing demand, otherwise there could be load shedding – a challenging request given record temperatures in Canberra and sweltering conditions in Sydney.
In Victoria, the number of fatalities remains at two, and six people are missing, revised down from 28.
Scott Morrison – who has been criticised for lacking the requisite leadership in the crisis – called out the ADF reserve, and changed the posture of the Commonwealth’s emergency response to be more forward leaning. The government deployed defence assets and funded more water bombers to assist the containment exercise. He also found time to put together an advertisement.
Thanks to colleagues in the field today: the two Mikes McGowan and Bowers, Helen Davidson and Jessica Hromas, Luke Henriques-Gomes in Victoria and Ben Doherty in Sydney, and to the news production team in Sydney.
Please follow advice and stay safe. Please. Stay connected and follow instructions from authorities that could save your life. I’ll go back to hosing the dehydrated magpies. Over to Chris Knaus for the night shift.
Back to Nowra. Mark Coombes, NSW Fire and Rescue’s divisional commander for the north recently addressed a new shift of firefighters here. “Right here we are the meat in the sandwich, so thanks for coming down.”
Around Nowra and further south, dozens of new fires sparked this afternoon. On the Princes Highway huge, dark columns of smoke were on the horizon in every direction. The road is closed south of Jervis Bay road, so we wound our way through the bushland between Jervis Bay and the highway, towards Bewong.
The Currowan fire jumped the Shoalhaven river earlier this afternoon near Illaroo farm, with flames more than 20m into the air.
At St George’s basin residents who stayed behind are in gardens and on roofs, hosing down houses and trees as text messages come through warning everyone from Nowra to Kiola about 90km south to take shelter. The enormous flank of the Currowan fire, and related blazes, is moving east. At its northern end, near Nowra, the fire generated its own thunderstorm.
The southerly change, due around nine or nine thirty with 80 km/h gusts to enrage the fires, isn’t even here yet.
“Fire intensity is going to be right up there, very comparable to what’s been happening today on this side of it”, said Coombes.
“There’s been a bit of information from the north side of the river of flame heights around 40 metres.”
The fire was recently behind Tomerong, and they are worried that if the fire gets on the eastern side of the highway there will be serious problems with protecting property.
That’s the guts of Victoria. I’m going to hand over shortly to my colleague Chris Knaus to take you through tonight, but before I do that, Helen Davidson has an update, and I will post a summary. Hang five.
The ADF says at this stage, it has not been able to conduct fixed wing sorties into Mallacoota due to smoke impeding the air operations. Hopefully that will happen tomorrow, and people will be able to be evacuated by air. “In the meantime, as soon as our rotary wing helicopter assets are relieved of tasks such as evacuating people from Omeo, they will return to the more logistics and support tasks, for example taking stores into Mallacoota.”
There is a change expected at midnight, but the Victorian authorities say the risk remains significant. Looking ahead to tomorrow, the high risk areas remain Corryong, Buffalo, Bright, Hotham and Dinner Plain.
Reporters check. Just to confirm, the number of fatalities remains at two? “Correct”. And six missing. “Yes, that’s correct, still at two, and now the good news is about the six – the number being greatly reduced. However, as the chief commissioner has previously pointed out it is fairly fluid as to how those numbers might move.”