Key Points
- Wild weather continues to affect Victoria, with three bushfires and thunderstorms hit the state.
- Several homes have been destroyed and people living in Newtown were forced to evacuate due to a bushfire.
- Impact assessment teams will arrive on Wednesday to assess any loss of life and damage to properties.
Three bushfires continue to rage in Victoria’s west and central regions as fire crews battle to control the flames overnight, with a number of homes destroyed.
But the threat has eased in the Mt Stapylton and Bellfield areas in the Grampians National Park after residents were told seek shelter on Tuesday afternoon.
Conditions were also better on Wednesday morning around a bushfire at Newtown near Ballarat after residents were told to evacuate after a grassfire spread into a forest and morphed into a bushfire.
The third fire around Pomonal, also in the Grampians, is still to be brought under control and there are unconfirmed reports multiple homes have been lost in the town.
Five country firefighters suffered minor injuries after their truck was involved in a burnover at a fireground at Pomonal on Tuesday night.
The firefighters were pre-positioned in the town and tasked with protecting homes and critical infrastructure, Forest Fire Management Victoria chief Chris Hardman said.
“When the wind change came through, the fire moved very rapidly into Pomonal and those firefighters were caught between the fire front and the work they were doing in protecting communities,” Hardman told ABC News.
Authorities are still working out how many homes have been destroyed in the fires in Pomonal, which was burning about 2000ha in size.
“We don’t have a full understanding of the fire front and the impact it’s had on the township, but it certainly has impacted sections of the Pomonal township and we’ve had some losses,” Hardman said.
Impact assessment teams will touch down on firegrounds on Wednesday to assess any loss of life and damage to properties.
The state sweltered through three days of heat as temperatures surpassed 40C in some parts on Tuesday.
Dry lightning strikes mixed with wind gusts reaching 100km/h fanned the out-of-control flames.
Temperatures are set to drop following a cool change on Wednesday but fire conditions are expected to persist.
Source Agencies
