SYDNEY – Bush fires in Australia’s Victoria state burned out of control on Dec 21, with the authorities issuing an evacuation order at the highest danger rating for hundreds of residents in the state’s west.
The alert was for an area near the Grampians National Park, about 241km west of state capital Melbourne and included rural towns such as Halls Gap, which has a population of 495.
“Leaving immediately is the safest option, before conditions become too dangerous,” Victoria’s emergency services agency said on its website.
One of the blazes, sparked on Dec 17 by lightning strikes, spread overnight and burned through more than 28,000ha, the agency said.
About 400 firefighters were fighting the fires, using more than 100 tankers and 25 aircraft, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
“The fire has stablised since the wind has dropped,” Country Fire Authority deputy chief officer Gary Cook told the broadcaster.
The authorities have warned of a high-risk bush fire season this Australian summer, after several quiet seasons compared with the 2019 to 2020 “Black Summer” fires that destroyed an area the size of Turkey and killed 33 people. REUTERS
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