SUNRAYSIA faces an “almost unprecedented” fire danger on Thursday, according to Country Fire Authority (CFA) district 18 commander Mick Sporton.
The CFA has declared a code red fire danger for the Mallee region for the first time in since 2010.
Temperatures were expected to hit 40 degrees for a second consecutive day on Thursday, after a forecast overnight minimum of 27 degrees.
Emergency state commissioner Andrew Crisp said on Wednesday afternoon that any fires seen in the Mallee on Thursday would be “fast-moving, unpredictable and uncontrollable”, adding that houses in the Mallee are “not designed and not built to withstand those sorts of conditions”.
“Therefore, the very, very clear message is: if you do not need to be in your home on a day like that, in an area like that, then you should not be,” he said.
His message for people in high-risk areas was: “You should look at getting out tonight or first thing in the morning ... the fire risk is real, and it's real very, very early in the day tomorrow.
“These are potentially the worst conditions that we will confront and have confronted, for quite some time.”
Mr Sporton said the reason for the code red categorisation, the “worst conditions for a bush or grass fire", was a combination of factors.
“We got the weather estimates in from the Bureau (of Meteorology) and it's expected that we'll have extreme fire weather because of the high winds and temperatures,” he said.
“Given that there’s a wind change coming through in the mid to late morning and early afternoon, we expect the fire danger rating to really spike.
“Code red is the highest we can go – it’s the highest preparedness rating that we’ve got.
“There’s also a total fire ban for the whole state of Victoria ... we're asking our farming communities to avoid or stop any activity in the paddocks – no harvesting, no slashing, no tractors or any equipment really, in any of the dry cropping or grassed areas because this is going to be almost unprecedented fire weather that we'll experience.”
Mr Sporton urged the community to be “extremely vigilant” and asked for their help in avoiding any potential disasters.
“We've got a full incident management team running out of Mildura and Swan Hill – all our brigades will be on preparedness alert, ready to go at a moment's notice,” he said.
“We’ll also have aircraft located around the district at Linga, Ouyen and Sea Lake, as well as aircraft available from Bendigo, Shepparton and Kerang.
“Limit your activity outside to the bare minimum if you can – certainly no risky activities like anything to do with cutting any dry grass ... anything that could start a fire outside at all.
“We're after some community help here – if everyone can be very, very vigilant and very, very mindful, then we'll hopefully get through with a minimum of fuss and worry.”
Landfill changes, school closures
Mildura Rural City Council (MRCC) will close all landfill and transfer stations on Thursday, “to ensure the community's safety”.
“Affected sites include the Mildura and Ouyen Landfills, and Murrayville and Nangiloc Transfer Stations,” MRCC said on social media.
“If your normal bin collection day falls on a Thursday, your bin will now be collected this Saturday, meaning you'll need to leave your bin out on Friday.”
Education facilities across the region have also been affected, with the Victorian Education Department announcing closures at Manangatang P-12 College, Murrayville Community College, Nangiloc
Colignan and District Primary School, Ouyen P-12 College, Manangatang and District Preschool, Nangiloc and District Kindergarten and Ouyen Preschool.
A list of the closures has been published on the department’s website.
Advice on the right time to leave is available on the CFA website.
"On a code red day, leaving high risk bushfire areas the night before or early in the morning is the safest option," the website says.
The code red also applies to the Northern Country fire district.
The CFA advises Victorians ensure they have access to more than one source of information, including: ABC local radio, commercial and designated radio stations of Sky News; the VicEmergency App; the VicEmergency website www.emergency.vic.gov.au; the VicEmergency Hotline on 1800 226 226; CFA or VicEmergency Twitter or Facebook.
