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Millions across southeastern Australia are on high alert today, bracing for severe fire risks as scorching temperatures and strong winds spread across the region.
In South Australia, fire officials have pinpointed the west coast, Yorke Peninsula, and Mount Lofty Ranges as areas most at risk, predicting extreme fire conditions in these locations.
Authorities are particularly worried about the Fleurieu Peninsula in the Mount Lofty Ranges, where a fierce blaze has prompted fears that homes might have been destroyed. Hundreds of firefighters are currently engaged in efforts to control the fire.
This morning, the Country Fire Service (CFS) issued a watch and act alert for residents in Deep Creek, Silverton, Blowhole Beach Road, and Delamere, advising them to be ready to evacuate if necessary.
Christie Johnson, a meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology, noted that other regions in South Australia could experience temperatures soaring above 30 degrees, and potentially reaching up to 40 degrees, further increasing the fire threat.
“We also have some of these high fire danger areas that are very close to the threshold for extreme fire danger and that includes regions such as the Murraylands and the upper south-east,” she said.
Victorian firefighters are also bracing for extreme fire danger across large parts of the state over the coming hours.
The Country Fire Authority (CFA) has declared a total fire ban for the North Central, Central and Wimmera fire districts, where temperatures up to 35 degrees are expected.
“Conditions will make it difficult for firefighters to suppress a fire should one start,” said CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan.
The bureau is also forecasting a chance of some thunderstorms, particularly through West and South Gippsland, with the potential for new fires starting from lightning.
Authorities in Tasmania expect a high fire danger across the state today, except for the north-west region.
But modelling by the Bureau of Meteorology suggests conditions could deteriorate.
“We’re now expecting high fire danger right across the state, reaching extreme fire danger through the east coast and the Midlands district,” said Johnson.
The hot and windy conditions today extend to Western Australia, where an extreme fire danger warning has been issued for some inland parts of Perth.
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