Longwood Fire
The Country Fire Authority says two structures in deep bushland have been lost in the Longwood fire.
The fire, also threatening residents in Longwood East, Ruffy and Upton Hill, is not under control and is travelling west towards Locksley.
An emergency “leave immediately” warning was issued just after 6am on Thursday morning, after Wednesday’s extreme fire danger day left multiple parts of the state burning.
“Leaving immediately is the safest option, before conditions become too dangerous,” the warning said.
“Emergency services may not be able to help you if you decide to stay … Avenel-Longwood Road and Clarkes Road are open.”
Locksley locals Drew and Debra Birrell and two of their children, Dean and Tyson, are among a handful of families who evacuated their property on Thursday morning, after realising it could end up in the path of the out-of-control bushfire burning in Longwood.
“We just loaded everything into the car that we really knew we needed and couldn’t replace and just got out of there,” Drew said.
The essentials included medications, irreplaceable family photos that belonged to Drew’s mother, and the family dog, a fox terrier called Spot.
“You always forget something. You can never get out of there with everything,” Drew said.
Mt Lawson Fire
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A second fire near the Victorian/NSW border is still burning out of control, with residents nearby advised at midday to leave immediately. The fire ground is 27 kilometres west of Walwa, travelling from the Mt Lawson State Park in a southerly direction towards Bungil.
A community meeting had been organised for 9am on Thursday at the Bullioh Fire Station.
Although temperatures in Melbourne have eased, with the city expected to reach a high of 31 degrees on Thursday, regional Victoria is still experiencing the worst of a three-day heatwave. Longwood is predicted to reach a high of up to 42 degrees.
A spokeswoman from the State Control Centre told this masthead the fire had spread from the nearby Dropmore and Ruffy areas, where residents had also been urged to evacuate.
“We saw some intense fire behaviour overnight and into this morning,” the spokeswoman said.
“The grassland terrain is dry, and it’s going to be very hot again today. We’re just urging people to stay up to date with warnings. Fire is dynamic, don’t become complacent. Be prepared to enact bushfire plans.”
Forty ground crews, along with aircraft, have been responding to the fire, with firefighters expected to remain at the grounds throughout Thursday.
As Australia swelters through the first heatwave of summer, fire danger levels for Friday have been upgraded in parts of Victoria from extreme to catastrophic.
An extreme heatwave warning has been issued by the Bureau of Meteorology from Wednesday to Saturday this week in Northern Country, North East, East Gippsland and West and South Gippsland, with a severe heatwave warning for Mallee, Wimmera, Central, North Central and South West.
After a reaching a top of 44.3 in Longerenong, near Horsham on Wednesday, the forecast high for Friday is currently 41 degrees in Melbourne – weather conditions authorities fear could lead to blazes that take lives and destroy homes.
The North Central, Northern Country and Wimmera regions have been declared as catastrophic fire danger districts on Friday, with all other parts of the state rated extreme.
Even the best-prepared residents should not try to defend their homes on Friday, Country Fire Authority Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said on Tuesday. He urged residents and holidaymakers in bushfire-prone areas to leave early and not wait to be told they need to leave.
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