Firefighters are battling to contain an out-of-control blaze in the Grampians National Park in western Victoria, with authorities warning it could rage for weeks.
The fire has already destroyed more than 40,000 hectares of land and is expected to continue spreading until early 2025, with temperatures expected to rise even higher later this week.
Forecasters expect temperatures to rise above 40 degrees Celsius in Victoria on Thursday and wind speeds to reach between 70 and 80 km/h.
Jason Heffernan, chief officer of the Country Fire Authority, has warned that such high winds would make fighting fires a challenge.
‘We haven’t seen those winter rains. We have not seen the spring rains, which has resulted in bush areas being exceptionally dry,” he said.
Mr Heffernan said any new fires arising as a result of the extreme fire risk were a ‘major concern’.
“Follow the strict conditions associated with the total fire ban declaration and understand how the increased fire risk will affect you, and ensure your fire plan covers all possible contingencies,” he said.
Residents near a bushfire in the Grampians were allowed to go home to collect items on Christmas Eve.
A bushfire is pictured in Victoria’s Grampians as the state prepares for worse
But orders were issued on Christmas Day for Bellfield, Bellfield Settlement, Flat Rock Crossing, Fyans Creek, Grampians Junction and Halls Gap.
There are currently 18 firefighters and 300 firefighters operating in Victoria, including more than 100 from NSW, Queensland, ACT and Tasmania.
A scorching heatwave is forecast to intensify across southern and eastern Australia, bringing extreme fire dangers and total fire bans from Christmas.
Victoria is facing its highest fire risk since the Black Summer of 2019, with extreme fire dangers in all but one region, leading to a total fire ban for the state on Boxing Day.
In Victoria, no fires may be lit or allowed to burn in the open from 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, December 26 until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday evening.
South Australians will be sweltering on Christmas Day, with Adelaide set to record its warmest Christmas since 2016 as temperatures across the state reach the high 30s to low 40s.
Parts of the state are facing extreme fire dangers, with a total fire ban declared in the Mount Lofty Ranges and the West Coast region on Wednesday.
South Australia is in one of its driest periods on record, says Country Fire Service chief officer Brett Loughlin. Warning fires can spread quickly.
The fires have already destroyed more than 40,000 hectares of land and are expected to spread by early 2025, with temperatures expected to rise even higher later this week
“All we need is heat and wind to combine to create the conditions for a total fire ban and high-risk firefighting,” Mr Loughlin said.
The state’s premier, Peter Malinauskas, has urged people to enjoy their Christmas holidays but act sensibly and cautiously when in bushfire zones.
Extreme fire risks will shift to the east of the state and across the border on Boxing Day, with a cool change coming from the west.
After a dry, sunny and warm Christmas, Victorians can expect temperatures to rise above 40 degrees on Thursday, Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Sarah Scully said.
High temperatures bring an increased risk of serious heat-related illness, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke, Ambulance Victoria Emergency Management director Dale Armstrong has warned.
Heat stroke is fatal in 80 percent of cases.
“Most at risk are the elderly, young children and those with medical conditions, but heat and heat-related illness can affect anyone,” Dale said.
Victorians are being urged to prepare for outages, with provider AusNet warning power cuts could be triggered to prevent bushfires from starting.
A total state-wide fire ban has been declared for Victoria on Boxing Day (see photo)
“If an outage occurs on Thursday it could mean extended outages as we will need to carry out additional checks and patrols to ensure it is safe to switch the power back on,” a spokeswoman said.
As a cool change washes over Victoria on Friday, extreme fire dangers will move into NSW.
In parts of southern NSW, including Wagga Wagga, temperatures will reach 39 degrees Celsius.
Sydney CBD will reach 29 degrees Celsius on Thursday, but temperatures are expected to rise significantly on Friday, peaking at 37 degrees.
However, the city’s western suburbs are set to far worse, with an expected maximum temperature of 41 degrees Celsius on Boxing Day in Penrith.
Canberra is expected to reach 35 degrees Celsius, with Brisbane experiencing temperatures of around 30 degrees on Thursday and 37 degrees Celsius expected on Friday.