Eastern Australian states brace for extreme fire threat amid soaring temperatures and high winds
Share:
Dangerous fire conditions set to sweep across south-east as Victoria, NSW and SA prepare for Boxing Day scorcher. Dangerous fire conditions are set to sweep across several states as the south-east braces for a Boxing Day scorcher. Damaging winds will fan extreme fire danger on Thursday as hot and dry weather envelops large parts of Victoria, south-west New South Wales and much of eastern South Australia.
The mercury is set to reach the high 30s to 40s for much of Victoria and inland Australia, with the central western Queensland town of Birdsville forecast for a 47C belter. Gusts of up to 100km/h are strong enough to bring down trees and power lines, and cause minor power outages, the Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Dean Narramore said.
A high-pressure trough which brought temperatures in the high 30s to South Australia on Christmas Day is slowly trekking across the border to Victoria. All but one region of Victoria are set to face extreme fire risk on Thursday. Total fire bans have also been declared for South Australia’s Mid North, Riverland, Murraylands, Upper South East and Lower South East regions.
The dangerous conditions could further fuel an out-of-control bushfire in Victoria’s Grampians National Park which has been burning for days, covering more than 40,000 hectares. Victoria State Control Centre spokesman Luke Hegarty warned people in the Grampians, The Gurdies, Bullengarook, and Creswick to prepare their bushfire survival plans.
