SYDNEY, Jan 8 (Reuters) – Uncontrolled fires burned through the bush in the Australian state of Victoria on Thursday, forcing communities to evacuate and authorities to warn of a ‘catastrophic’ fire danger recommendation for Friday.
Amid temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in parts of the state, two large forest fires were raging near the towns of Longwood and Walwa.
The fires have destroyed at least two structures and are expected to continue to spread on Friday as heat and wind increase, authorities said.
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The Longwood Fire has grown to more than 25,000 hectares, while the Walwa Fire is 10,000 hectares and has created its own weather system, with a pyrocumulonimbus cloud causing lightning and thunder. Residents of dozens of neighboring cities were asked to leave the region.
Friday’s fire danger advisory will be set at ‘catastrophic,’ the highest level, and both fires pose a real risk of loss of life and property, officials said.
‘Tomorrow is a very, very terrible day for bushfires in the State of Victoria,’ Country Fire Authority director Jason Heffernan said at a press conference.
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The bushfires come amid an intense summer heatwave in South Australia. Forecasters said conditions were at the same level as in 2019, when bushfires destroyed large swaths of southeast Australia, killing 33 people, in what became known as the Black Summer.
Around 450 schools in Victoria are expected to close on Friday and many regional train services will be cancelled.
For this Thursday, total fire bans were issued in several districts. A total fire ban will be imposed across the state on Friday.
In New Zealand, the country’s weather provider, MetService, also warned of record temperatures over the weekend as the heat wave moves across the Tasman Sea.
It has issued heat warnings for parts of New Zealand’s east coast and the north of the South Island.
(Reporting by Christine Chen in Sydney; Additional reporting by Lucy Craymer in Auckland)
