Residents across Victoria are facing a dangerous fire crisis as soaring temperatures and strong winds create conditions likely to destroy more homes and property. Officials say much of the state is at extreme risk as multiple bushfires continue to spread.
Forecasts predict record-breaking heat for Friday and Saturday, putting Victoria and South Australia on high alert. Authorities warn that the combination of high temperatures and gusty winds makes fires highly unpredictable and fast-moving.
A total fire ban has been imposed in Victoria, with all areas rated either catastrophic or extreme. Country Fire Authority chief officer Jason Heffernan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the outlook remains alarming.
"Victorians should brace themselves for more property loss or worse," he said.
Heffernan described the rapid deterioration of conditions.
"The conditions were extreme yesterday. They're catastrophic today." Temperatures are expected to reach 42C on Friday in the state.
The Longwood fire in central Victoria has already burned almost 36,000 hectares, with at least ten homes destroyed in the nearby town of Ruffy. Ruffy CFA captain George Noye spoke about the scale of the damage.
"The main street looks like a bomb's gone off, we've lost a school," he said.
Noye said the fire had destroyed not only buildings but livelihoods.
"Some properties have lost everything. They've lost their livelihoods, they've lost their shearing sheds, livestock, just absolutely devastating.
"But thankfully, at the moment, no lives have been lost."
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill said authorities are still looking for three people, two adults and a child, in the Longwood area. Hill explained that police had warned them to seek shelter when it was too late to evacuate. When emergency crews returned, the home had been destroyed, and the family could not be found.
"They may be safe, they may be alive, let's not get ahead of ourselves, but we are keeping an open mind," Hill said.
Another major blaze near Walwa in north-east Victoria has burned more than 17,000 hectares. Heffernan urged all Victorians to remain vigilant, noting that other fires had started across communities earlier in the day.
"That is how severe these conditions are at the moment, not only at the Longwood fire but across the state," he told the ABC.
In South Australia, authorities reported several smaller fires overnight and forecast temperatures as high as 46C in some regions, raising concerns of further flare-ups.
