Bushfires: Fears for campers ordered to evacuate as blazes rage out of control in multiple states

Campers in the bush for the holiday weekend have been forced to flee as out-of-control grass and bushfires rage through regional New South Wales and southeastern Victoria.

According to the Rural Fire Service, there were 85 bushfires burning in New South Wales on Sunday evening, of which 39 were ‘out of control’.

Residents in the Shoalhaven and Snowy Monaro areas were on high alert and several fires continued to burn near Shannons Flat and Bredbo.

NSW RFS has issued a Watch and Act warning for Bundle Hill Rd, Bawley Point at 4pm on Sunday.

A Watch and Act warning also remains in force for Cappanana Rd, Bredbo, as a grass fire continues to burn out of control, and also for Shannons Flat Rd, Shannons Flat, where a bushfire continues to burn out of control.

Firefighters also battled a blaze at the Gregadoo Waste Management Centre, south-east of Wagga Wagga.

A ‘park fire ban’ means that only gas heaters, liquid fuel heaters and electric barbecues may be used.

A grass fire was pictured burning rapidly in southern NSW

It comes as the official wildfire season begins in many states on Sunday.

NSW Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib warned residents to expect a continued risk of bushfires in the coming days.

“Not only is it hot, it is also dry and windy and these conditions together are the perfect storm for the fire to push through,” Dib said.

Fire and Rescue NSW Acting Commissioner Megan Stiffler said people should also be aware of bushfire warnings.

“We can’t guarantee that a fire engine will be at every home at risk, so it’s really up to you to make sure your bushfire survival plan is in place,” she said.

Meanwhile, residents of Briagolong, Culloden, Moornapa and Stockdale, east of Melbourne, were warned to ‘evacuate immediately’ as an out-of-control bushfire rages through Duffy Rd near Briagolong.

Those calls became increasingly urgent as emergency services told residents that if they did not leave by 3 p.m. it would be too late and any attempt to evacuate later could be life-threatening.

Locals from Briagolong and surrounding townships have taken to social media over the holiday weekend, when many are traveling, to share shocking images of the out-of-control fires.

Hale Baron shared a video of the large plumes of smoke billowing from the fire, describing the “roaring” and “relentless” high winds that posed challenges to firefighting efforts.

Gippsland South MP Danny O’Brien said the “terrible winds” were causing serious fire problems in the region, with fires also burning in the Loch Sport and Forge Creek areas.

“If you don’t need to be there, the best thing you can do today is to stay off the road in these areas and keep up to date with what action you need to take via the Vic Emergency app,” Mr O’Brien told residents .

Nearby, residents of Merrijig, Iguana Creek, Stockdale, Cobbannah and surrounding areas were told to prepare to leave, while areas north and south of Briagolong were under an advisory warning.

Emergency alerts

Further south, an out-of-control grass fire at Loch Sport had triggered a severe emergency warning, with residents there ordered to take shelter indoors, with a second grass fire at Forge Creek.

On social media, residents there described being evacuated to the Loch Sport boat ramp car park, while others gave similar descriptions of high winds exacerbating already poor fire conditions.

Residents of Rawson, Walhalla and Erica, east of Melbourne, were yet to be brought under control by firefighters as a bushfire swept south-west across Knotts Siding Rd.

Millions of families are being warned to be on alert after an extreme fire warning was issued for large parts of NSW, including the Greater Sydney region, where temperatures are expected to rise.

The warning will be in effect for much of the state’s coastline for the rest of Sunday, including the Greater Hunter and Far South Coast, as well as the North Western and Upper Central West Plains.

Just before 1pm on Sunday there were 20 active bushfire warnings in Victoria and 42 warnings in NSW – excluding grass fires.

The Bureau of Meteorology warned of a south-westerly change on Sunday with a move through southern parts of the state, bringing strong and gusty winds along the south coast.

Families traveling over the holiday weekend were previously warned to brace for ‘high-risk’ bushfires after a snap ban was imposed in some of NSW’s most sought-after tourist destinations.

Australia’s eastern states are forecast to swelter with temperatures expected to reach 36 degrees Celsius over the holiday weekend, leading to a ban on solid fuel fires in national parks on the NSW south coast.

NPWS South Coast director Kane Weeks said campfires and solid fuel fires were ‘too risky’ under current conditions, with travelers instead limiting themselves to gas, liquid fuel or electric heaters.

“Right along the coastal and slope reserves, dry conditions combined with hot, dry weather mean campfires are a risk in bushland areas across the region,” Mr Weeks said.

‘Forest fires can be started very easily by the sparks of a campfire… All it takes is a gust of wind and we could have a forest fire. There are many examples of campfires causing large forest fires.”

Sydney residents hit 36 ​​degrees on Sunday and hotter is coming

Black smoke fills the air above a rural estate in south-east Victoria (pictured)

Total fire bans were already in place across the state on Sunday, including on the Far South Coast, Great Sydney, Monaro Alpine, Northern Slopes and Central Ranges NSW RFS fire districts.

Burn permits had already been suspended in many of the affected regions, including the lower Hunter region where firefighters had already been battling the blazes ‘day and night’ in recent weeks.

“Over the past two weeks – as we move towards the official start of the fire season – we and our partner organizations have been fighting fires day and night, with the support of aircraft,” the local RFS said.

‘Due to the current forecast temperatures and conditions for the coming week – coupled with the fire activity in the area over the past week – the decision has been made to suspend burn permits.’

The sweltering weather will begin to settle in the east from Friday as a mass of hot air from Western Australia works its way south where it will remain until at least Wednesday.

“The heat will really settle in parts of the south-east over the next few days,” Sky News meteorologist Bradlyn Oakes said.

‘Some of this is helped by the pattern of the upper atmosphere; There’s a lot of hot air coming in and you can see it out there.

“That extends from the northwest to the southeast, which will keep it very warm in the coming days.”

If a weather station in Greater Sydney exceeds 37.3 degrees Celsius in the first three days of October, it will be the highest early spring temperature on record.

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts temperatures in the city will reach a maximum of 36 degrees Celsius on Sunday, an increase of 8 degrees on the day before.

While conditions are expected to ease on Monday, the mercury is expected to rise again next week with highs of 37C on Tuesday.

Ms Oakes said Tuesday’s temperatures were really worrying.

“There are a lot of areas in NSW, but also in the ACT and Victoria, where the temperature is probably 8, 10, 12, 14 degrees above average,” she said.

After a steamy AFL Grand Final day on Saturday, Melbourne will enjoy cooler temperatures on Sunday, with a high of 21 degrees Celsius forecast, before the heat hits for the final time on Monday. Temperatures will drop over the course of the week while up to 15mm of rain will fall.

Temperatures in the country’s capital are forecast to reach as high as 31ºC on Tuesday, compared to 19ºC on the same day last year.

Brisbane is also expected to reach 27 degrees Celsius this weekend, while Hobart will reach 23 degrees Celsius on Saturday – 10 degrees above the same day last year.

Fire warning and national disturbance

The Northern Territory is also experiencing heat and fire danger warnings.

The agency issued fire warnings for the Darwin and Adelaide River districts, Gregory South East and Barkly North on Thursday.

“Warm and dry with moderate to fresh and gusty winds from the northeast to southeast in most parts of the territory,” the agency said.

“Wind combined with high fuel loads will result in increased fire danger in the Barkly North, Darwin and Adelaide River and Gregory South East fire district.”

Catastrophic fire danger is forecast for Barkly North, while extreme fire danger is forecast for the Darwin and Adelaide Rivers and Gregory South East.

Australia was set to experience a scorching hot day on Sunday, with strong winds raising fears of widespread fires

Thick black smoke filled the air at Loch Sport, Victoria (pictured)

NT Fire and Rescue Service has advised residents to implement their bushfire survival plans immediately.

The temperature is expected to hover around 34 degrees Celsius and 35 degrees Celsius until Monday.

Other parts of the country will also experience steadily warming temperatures.

The agency predicts Adelaide will reach a high of 31 degrees Celsius on Monday, while Brisbane will experience temperatures of around 20 degrees during the week.

Perth will enjoy a cooler weekend, with highs expected to reach 21 degrees Celsius on Sunday, before dropping to a top of 18 degrees Celsius on Sunday.