Extract from ABC News
Updated
Snow machines have been brought out of hibernation to
protect alpine resorts as Victoria's first state of disaster is
extended for two days ahead of worsening fire conditions.
Key points:
- A total fire ban has been declared for today in six of Victoria's nine fire districts, with the fire danger in the Northern Country rated as extreme
- Snow machines are being used at ski resorts in the Alpine region to protect infrastructure
- For the latest emergency information, visit the Vic Emergency website
The Alpine region, East Gippsland and the state's north-east are bracing for yet another day of extreme fire danger.
Two evacuation warnings and one emergency warning are in place for areas in the Alps, including Mt Buffalo, due to an out-of-control bushfire near Abbeyard.
There is a separate emergency warning for Combienbar, in East Gippsland, for a grassfire threatening homes and the Combienbar Hall.
Premier Daniel Andrews extended the state of disaster yesterday for two days and authorities urged people in the declared disaster zones to leave the area, amid fears bushfires could begin to threaten communities this morning.
The state of disaster covers East Gippsland, the Alpine region and the state's north-east.
Mr Andrews said today would be "spike day", with soaring temperatures forecast for much of the state and a winds expected to reach up to 100 kilometres per hour on some of the fire grounds.
"It's going to be a very long and difficult day," Orbost incident controller Andrew O'Connell told ABC Gippsland.
"We are currently seeing fire behaviour that we've never seen before. So what we've never seen before is now our expected fire behaviour. I can't predict where it's going to be at its most severe," said.
The total perimeter around the bushfires burning across Victoria is more than 7,600 kilometres.
A total fire ban is in place for much of the state's north and east, and temperatures are expected to peak to 36 degrees Celsius in Mildura, 40C in Shepparton, 42C in Albury-Wodonga and 39C in Sale.
Snow machines used to cool down infrastructure and environment
Mount Hotham Resort Management Board chief executive Jon Hutchins said his team had been clearing vegetation and putting snow machines around critical sites."In the ski resort here we've had all our snow guns in position which create a fog for any ember attack," he said.
"They also create dampness on the ground so the embers can't take off or take hold."
The machines were positioned yesterday around vital infrastructure such as pumps, gas works, and sewerage works and areas of the environment critical to native and threatened species.
Mr Hutchins said preparations had been going on for weeks, but the weather had at times made it difficult.
"It's funny when you think just over a month ago we had just over a foot of snow at the resort and now we've got bushfires, which makes alpine management really quite a challenge," he said.
Despite warnings, many are choosing to stay
Bairnsdale incident controller Brett Mitchell said an afternoon south-westerly wind change would put communities near the 1,200 kilometres of bushfire perimeter under threat.He said it was likely Buchan South — which was hit by bushfires last week — would be impacted again.
People who believed they were safe to stay in their community because it had already been hit by fires were urged to reconsider.
"I would strongly recommend that those people do evacuate if they're in a high-risk area," Mr Mitchell said.
Chrissy McKimmie lives on a dairy and beef farm just outside Corryong with her husband and two adult children.
The fire ripped through the McKimmie family's farm the night before New Year's Eve, wiping out about 95 per cent of their land.
Air quality had begun to improve, Ms McKimmie said, meaning she could finally hang out the washing.
"Today the air is tolerable. I don't think I can see the blue sky but it's nothing like what it was," Ms McKimmie said.
"It's hazy, we can probably see 2 kilometres, straight after the fire you could see about 15 metres."
Photo:
Houses near the town of Corryong were engulfed in fire last week. (Supplied: Pamela McKimmie)
It was about 35 degrees Celsius at the farm yesterday and despite an alleviated fire risk in the area, Ms McKimmie said the safest place for her family was at home.
"We had warnings text to us today but we've burnt everywhere around, it couldn't possibly burn us again. We feel safe."
She said other dairy farmers in the area were also likely to stay to ensure their cows continued to produce milk.
"You really can't leave dairy farms and if you have a chance to save your house … some people think it's possible."
A local at Cobungra in the Alpine region told the ABC he would be staying to defend his home.
The local said it was smoky and fire could be seen from a hill on the outskirts of the small rural town.
He said power was out in Cobungra due to a downed powerline last week but that he had a generator for power and multiple tanks of water.
Firefighter loses finger saving cow
George Kucka has been a CFA firefighter for 23 years and said the recent fires were "like looking into the jaws of a dragon".Last Monday, Mr Kucka was the strike team leader for a Corryong group of five tankers that were protecting the Walwa community.
"It was an inferno. We had 60-kilometre winds blowing embers everywhere, spot fires all around us. It burnt within metres of the houses."
The team managed to save houses, but nothing else was left.
"Not a blade of grass on the ground, the stock are struggling. All our feed is gone, communications are gone, no power."
The following day, Mr Kucka lost part of his finger trying to save a cow that was trapped.
"Sadly, if you don't smile, you cry. And that's pretty much how it is."
He said today was going to be "awful and dangerous" but was hopeful the town would recover.
"It brings out the best in people and the worst in people, but mostly the best."
Others will not be returning
The Mathews family fled their home at Newmerella, near Orbost, on December 29 when the fire raged through the East Gippsland region.They have moved four times in the last 10 days but have finally found refuge with their 10 children at Gippsland Grammar's boarding house in Sale.
The move has been particularly difficult for the children, four of whom are on the autism spectrum, and another who is intellectually disabled.
Their mother, Natasha, said the constant upheaval had caused them significant angst.
"A lot of children with autism, they might have a tent they go to or a calming place or somewhere that just about every parent with autism has set up in their home for their children, because it means that they can regulate their emotions a lot easier," she said.
"We don't have that, because we're constantly moving.
"So we have a child that honestly has hit himself hundreds and hundreds of times in his head and is having meltdowns constantly. We have another one that's got constant stomach pains and stuff and has gone from being a gentle boy to pinching and biting us, because he's not coping and we can't do anything to stop it.
"We're powerless to be able to change it until we get home because their safe place is at home."
Stay across our bushfire coverage:
- Snow guns being used to defend Victorian alpine properties
- People in coastal Kangaroo Island town of Kingscote cornered by fires
- What the experts say about hazard reduction burns and our current fire catastrophe
- 'We're stepping up': Billionaire Andrew Forrest pledges $70m for bushfire relief and recovery
- Wildlife experts say over a billion animals now dead in NSW bushfires
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