Australians in Victoria have been warned they should prepare for “property loss or worse” as much of the country faces extreme heat conditions.
Temperatures on Friday and Saturday are forecast to hit record highs for most states and territories, with Victoria and South Australia in particular bracing for dangerous fire conditions due to strong winds and hot temperatures.
A general fire ban is in place in Victoria and all regions across the state have been given a “catastrophic” or “severe” fire risk rating.
“Victorians should brace themselves for further property loss or worse,” Country Fire Authority (CFA) chief Jason Heffernan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Friday.
“The conditions were terrible yesterday. They’re going to be bad today,” Heffernan said.
Temperatures in Melbourne are expected to hit 42C on Friday and while areas of north-west Victoria could reach 45C, a cold change is forecast in the south-west.
A bushfire near Longwood, central Victoria, has burned nearly 36,000 hectares, authorities said, with at least 20 homes in the small town of Ruffy destroyed.
Ruffy CFA captain George Noye said the town was “severely” affected.
“The main road looks like a bomb went off, we lost a school,” he told ABC.
“Some properties lost everything. They lost their livelihoods, they lost their shearing sheds, livestock, absolutely devastated.
“But thankfully, so far, no lives have been lost.”
A statement from Victoria’s state control center on Friday said the Longwood fire was “incredibly dynamic, with the fire spreading in many directions” and could spread further than first estimated.
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill said three people – two adults and a child – remained unaccounted for in the Longwood area.
He said the authorities interviewed them yesterday at their property, warning them to seek shelter because it was too late to evacuate. Fire officials returned later to find the house on fire but were unable to find the three people.
“They might be safe, they might be alive, we don’t get too ahead of ourselves, but we keep an open mind,” Hill said.
In the Australian Capital Territory, which includes the capital Canberra, a total fire ban was declared for the first time in six years.
Sydney will see the mercury rise to 42C on Saturday, before falling to 26C on Sunday.
Another fire near Walwa, northeast Victoria, has burned more than 17,000 hectares.
Heffernan urged all Victorians to be alert, not just those near an active fire.
“That’s how bad these conditions are right now, not just in the Longwood fire but across the state,” he told ABC.
“My message right now to Victorians is yes, we’re talking about Longwood and Walwa, but we’ve got a lot of other fires that started this morning in and around those communities … I’m looking forward to more as the day goes on.”
In South Australia, local fire authorities said they were battling several small fires across the state overnight and temperatures were expected to hit 46C in some areas.