THREE people are missing and homes have been destroyed, as catastrophic bushfire conditions worsen and firefighters warn more blazes could ignite.
Dozens of fires are burning across Victoria, with emergency warnings covering half the state in soaring temperatures and gusty, damaging winds.
New blazes sparked near Horsham, Ouyen, Avalon and Skipton on Friday, as emergency services continue to battle major fires near the town of Longwood and at Mount Lawson State Park, near Walwa, along with outbreaks in the state’s alpine region and in Far East Gippsland.
A wind change was challenging firefighters and conditions could get even tougher, State Control Centre spokesman David Nugent said.
“We have hot temperatures, we have strong winds and we are just starting to see the wind change move across from the southwest of the state,” he said.
“The winds ahead of that change are expected to be really strong.”
The change could bring storm activity, but little rain is forecast and any lightning could start more blazes.
In the town of Yea a handful of firefighters have gathered to discuss plans ahead of a wind change.
Most stores are closed, except for the local hardware store.
Manager Tracey Pride-Elliot says they will be open for anyone’s needs.
She has lived in Yea for 35 years and was trapped during fires in 2009.
“We’re here to help everyone,” Ms Pride-Elliot told AAP.
Properties in Longwood East have been affected by the fire, including one home that narrowly avoided major damage as flames tore through the area within hours on Friday afternoon.
Locals have described the conditions as some of the worst on record.
“It’s appalling. This is looking worse than Black Saturday,” Acting Mayor of Strathbogie Shire Claire Ewart-Kennedy told AAP.
“As an individual, it scares the bejesus out of me and, as the acting mayor, it devastates me.”
Police said two adults and one child were unaccounted for after fire destroyed their house in Longwood East on Thursday afternoon.
Properties have been lost in Longwood and the nearby town of Ruffy, including a school, while a fire in the border town of Walwa has ripped through a pine tree plantation.
Ruffy-based Country Fire Authority captain George Noye gave a grim assessment of his town, with 10 properties destroyed.
He said a member of his crew was hospitalised with third-degree burns to his hands.
“It’s like a bomb has gone off. We got smashed by the fire spots,” Mr Noye told AAP.
Jan Newton, who lives in nearby Strath Creek, agreed evacuating her home on Friday morning brought back memories of the Black Saturday fires.
A staggering 173 people were killed in Victoria in those blazes on February 7, 2009.
“I went through the 2009 fires, lost everything, and decided to leave early (on Friday),” Ms Newton told AAP at the evacuation centre in Seymour, about 30 minutes from Longwood.
“Looking at the house, you look at it and think I’ve lived here for 50 years, and I’ve gone through five bushfires, I’m praying my luck hasn’t run out.”
A major heatwave has swept across Australia’s southeast, with temperatures peaking at 42.9C in Melbourne and above 40C in parts of inland Victoria on Friday.
The Longwood fire has razed more than 84,000 hectares while the flames near Walwa and Mount Lawson along the Victoria-NSW border have burnt over 19,000 hectares.
The Mount Lawson fire is not expected to be contained for weeks despite the efforts of more than 400 firefighters.
Thirty new fires were sparked overnight after at least 10,000 lightning strikes were recorded in the state’s east.
More than 90,000 homes and businesses across the state are also without power, including in fire-affected areas.
Premier Jacinta Allan begged Victorians to follow emergency advice and evacuate properties where necessary.
