‘Extreme and dangerous’ weather: Australian bushfires raze homes, cut power to tens of thousands

SYDNEY – Thousands of Australian firefighters on Jan 10 toiled in the state of Victoria to get the upper hand on

bushfires that have razed homes

, cut power to tens of thousands and burned vast swathes of bushland.

The blazes, mostly sparking at midweek amid an intense heatwave in Australia’s south-east, have torn through over 300,000ha of bushland, the authorities said on the morning of Jan 10, adding that 10 major fires were still burning statewide.

More than 130 structures, including homes, have been destroyed and around 38,000 residences and businesses were without power due to the fires, the authorities said.

In neighbouring New South Wales, several fires close to the Victorian border were burning at emergency level, the highest danger rating, the Rural Fire Service said, as temperatures hit the mid-40s deg C.

Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan said thousands of firefighters were in the field working to contain the fires.

“Where we can, fires will be brought under control,” she said in a televised media conference from state capital Melbourne.

Earlier in the day, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the nation faced “extreme and dangerous” weather, especially in Victoria, where much of the state has been declared a disaster zone.

“My thoughts are with Australians in these regional communities at this very difficult time,” he said in televised remarks from Canberra.

Three people remained missing in Victoria, where more than 50 fires, many at the highest danger rating, were burning out of control on the morning of Jan 10. Temperatures have soared past 40 deg C this week.

The authorities have said the fires, which took hold amid a heatwave and have been fanned by strong winds, are the worst to hit the state since the Black Summer blazes of 2019-2020 that destroyed an area the size of Turkey and killed 33 people.

A disaster declaration was made in 18 areas of Victoria overnight, while the Australian Defence Force had been requested to provide housing support for Victorian firefighters, the Prime Minister added.

The largest fire near the town of Longwood, about 112km north of Melbourne, has burned 130,000ha of bushland, destroying 30 structures, vineyards and agricultural land, the authorities said.

Dozens of communities near the fires have been evacuated and many of the state’s parks and campgrounds are closed.

On Jan 10, a heatwave warning was in place for large parts of Victoria, while fire weather warnings were active for neighbouring New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, the nation’s weather forecaster said.

In Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, the temperature climbed to 42.2 deg C, more than 17 deg C above the average maximum for January, according to official data.

The weather forecaster predicted conditions to ease over the weekend as a southerly change brought milder temperatures to the state.

‘If you have been told to leave, go’

The Longwood fire has taken place in a region cloaked in native forests.

Fire crews have started tallying the damage, with early reports of at least 20 houses destroyed in the small town of Ruffy, about two hours’ drive north of Melbourne.

Ms Allan on Jan 10 declared a state of disaster, giving fire crews emergency powers to force evacuations. “It’s all about one thing – protecting Victorian lives,” she said. “And it sends one clear message: If you have been told to leave, go.”

Three people, including a child, were missing in one of the state’s most dangerous fire grounds.

“I appreciate there is a lot of concern,” Ms Allan said.

Although conditions had eased on the morning of Jan 10, more than 30 separate bushfires were still burning.

The worst fires have largely been confined to sparsely populated rural areas where towns might number a few hundred people.

Photos taken this week showed the night sky glowing orange as the fire near Longwood ripped through bushland.

‘Terrifying’

“There were embers falling everywhere. It was terrifying,” cattle farmer Scott Purcell told ABC.

Another bushfire near the small town of Walwa crackled with lightning as it radiated enough heat to form a localised thunderstorm, fire authorities said.

Hundreds of firefighters from across Australia have been called in to help.

Millions of people have sweltered through this week’s intense heatwave.

Hundreds of baby bats died earlier this week as stifling temperatures settled over the state of South Australia, a local wildlife group said.

Australia’s climate has warmed by an average of 1.51 deg C since 1910, researchers have found, fuelling increasingly frequent extreme weather patterns over both land and sea.

Australia remains one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of gas and coal, two key fossil fuels blamed for global heating. REUTERS, AFP