A town near Victoria’s Grampians National Park has been told to ‘shelter now’ as dreaded Boxing Day conditions fan an out-of-control bushfire.
Residents in Bornes Hill were told early on Thursday morning that it is too late to leave and they must shelter in place as firefighters continue to tackle the flames.
They had earlier been ordered to leave on Wednesday, along with residents in Moyston and Pomonal.
It comes after high temperatures and windy conditions were expected to create an extreme fire risk in most parts of Victoria on Boxing Day – potentially the worst conditions since the 2019 Black Summer.
The mercury is set to reach the high 30s to 40s for much of the state and inland , with the central western Queensland town of Birdsville forecast for a 47C scorcher.
Victoria State Control Centre spokesman Luke Hegarty warned people in the Grampians, The Gurdies, Bullengarook, and Creswick to prepare their bushfire survival plans.
‘If you choose to leave these areas of elevated risk, go on the night of December 25, or no later than 10am on December 26, before the extreme fire danger conditions begin,’ he said.
Mr Narramore said the combination of strong winds, high temperatures and dry air made for dangerous fire activity.
‘Any fire that does get going or already is ongoing around the Grampians will likely be uncontrollable and uncontainable, leading to dangerous and erratic fire behaviour,’ he said.
Firefighters from multiple states have deployed to help their Victorian counterparts as crews work to secure containment lines.
Power provider AusNet warned customers that power cuts could be triggered to prevent bushfires from starting and outages could last longer to ensure safety.
As a cool change washes over Victoria on Thursday night, hot, dry and windy conditions will push into parts of central northeastern NSW, bringing extreme fire danger in that region on Friday.