Firefighters on Tuesday warned people to flee or seek shelter if it was too late to leave, as hot, gusty winds fanned “very challenging” bushfires in Victoria, eastern Australia.
About 650 firefighters were battling fires across 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres), said Jason Heffernan, director of the state’s National Fire Authority.
Wind gusts of up to 80 kilometers per hour (50 miles per hour) were reported around East Gippsland, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) east of Melbourne, it said.
Emergency services issued evacuation orders for nine rural neighborhoods, saying the fires “threaten homes and lives.”
People who had not yet left seven other neighborhoods were asked to take shelter immediately because “it is too late to leave the area safely.”
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“We are experiencing spot fires well ahead of the main front and firefighters are doing everything they can to try to contain the fire, but it is a big challenge,” Heffernan told Australian public broadcaster ABC.
“It is proving quite difficult to burn both on private property and in some pine plantations. Therefore, the next few hours will continue to be very difficult for firefighters on the ground.”
Rain is expected to help put out the flames by late afternoon, he said.
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Separately, a bushfire was “out of control” in an area of Flinders Island in Tasmania, state emergency services said, although recent rain had slowed its spread.
After several wet years, experts expect the upcoming Australian summer to bring the most intense bushfire season since 2019-2020.
During that “Black Summer,” bushfires raged along Australia’s east coast, leveling swaths of forest, killing millions of animals and covering cities in smoke.
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