Communities and firefighters across Victoria, Australia’s second-most populous state, are on high alert as a severe heatwave combined with erratic winds creates potentially catastrophic wildfire conditions, The Associated Press reports.
Authorities are warning residents to prepare for the worst fire conditions seen in several years.
Temperatures in Victoria reached 37 degrees Celsius (99 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday, with significant wind changes expected throughout the day. Fire chiefs have issued dire warnings to rural communities, urging residents to delay non-essential travel, evacuate their homes, and seek refuge at designated shelters.
Several fires are currently burning out of control across the state, and Deputy Premier Ben Carroll has cautioned that further fires are likely in the coming days.
The largest uncontained fire is currently raging in the Grampians National Park, having already consumed 55,000 hectares of land. While no homes have been reported lost so far, Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent warned that numerous residential properties on the fringes of the fire are under threat.
An emergency warning was issued on Thursday for the small town of Mafeking, located 160 miles west of Melbourne.
To combat the blazes, around 100 personnel from other Australian states have arrived in Victoria to support local firefighters. Water-bombing aircraft are also being deployed to assist in firefighting efforts.
The heatwave and high fire risks extend beyond Victoria, with parts of neighboring South Australia and New South Wales also on high alert.
The current conditions are being compared to the devastating Black Summer fires of 2019-20, which ravaged Australia’s two most populous states, burning through 104,000 square kilometers (an area roughly the size of Ohio), destroying thousands of homes, and claiming the lives of 33 people.
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