All eyes are on a bushfire that has been raging for weeks in Victoria as southern Australia swelters through a three-day heatwave.
Hot conditions will endure across the weekend from central Australia to the southeast, with pockets in Victoria’s east and NSW’s southeast to experience severe conditions until late Sunday.
Firefighters are on high alert in Victoria as the , continues to burn.
“The fire risk actually is escalating and we’re just looking at some of the numbers for extreme fire risk, especially around greater Melbourne,” State Control Centre spokeswoman Reegan Key said.
“We’re likely to have extreme fire risk around greater Melbourne tomorrow, also in the Mallee and the Wimmera.”
It has been declared an extreme fire danger day in the Mallee, Central and North Central regions and high fire danger in all other parts of Victoria.
Total fire bans have been declared in the Mallee, Wimmera, South West, North Central and Central (including Melbourne and Geelong) districts.
Country Fire Authority chief officer Jason Heffernan said the total fire ban had been declared because of the potential for gusty conditions.
“This weekend’s hot and windy conditions pose a big risk for the state with significant fires already in the landscape,” he said.
“Heatwaves can be incredibly dangerous, and they kill more Australians than any other natural event.”
He said it was important for travellers to remain alert and in tune with fire danger warnings across the summer season.
Authorities are monitoring fire threats in two of Victoria’s most popular national park holiday destinations on opposite sides of the state, with tourists and locals in the Grampians and Wilsons Promontory urged to monitor alerts.
The Grampians National Park bushfire has slowed but continues to burn, with four houses and several other buildings lost in recent weeks.
More than 76,000 hectares of the Grampians — equivalent to the size of Singapore — have been burnt.
A heatwave warning for South Australia, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania has been issued by the Bureau of Meteorology, with temperatures set to reach the 40s in some parts of the country on Sunday.
Meteorologist Jonathon How said conditions should start to ease on Monday for South Australia and Victoria, but it won’t be until the middle of the week that NSW gets some relief.
“Low-intensity heatwaves are common at this time of year, but once we get into the severe category, especially with a run of hot days and warm nights, some people can find it challenging,” he said.
In NSW, fire crews battled 40 fires across the state on Saturday with the help of waterbombing aircraft to try to stop the spread.
A number of those fires are burning in or around the Yengo and Wollemi National Parks and near the Attunga State Forest.
