A cool change has eased conditions for firefighters battling an out-of-control blaze in Victoria’s Grampians following the worst bushfire conditions since the Black Summer of 2019, as residents in parts of New South Wales are on high alert.
Temperatures dropped on Thursday as gusty westerly winds swept through fires in the state’s west that have raged for more than a week and burned more than 70,000 hectares of bushland.
While Victoria will get a reprieve with a cool change, hot, dry and windy conditions will reach parts of central northeastern New South Wales, bringing extreme fire danger on Friday.
Complete fire bans have been declared in the Hunter, Greater Sydney, North Western and Northern Slopes regions.
Despite the colder conditions on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Ben Carroll warned that dangerous fire conditions would continue on Saturday.
The mercury hit 30 degrees or higher across much of Victoria on Thursday as extreme fire risks prompted the entire state to be declared a complete fire ban.
Authorities issued a series of warnings to evacuate or seek shelter as the afternoon wind shift took hold and fanned the flames in unpredictable directions.
Since then, the change in temperature had slowed the spread of the fires as temperatures fell, humidity increased and a small amount of rain fell, Victoria State Control Center spokesman Luke Hegarty said.
An interesting change has eased conditions for firefighters battling an out-of-control fire (pictured) in Victoria’s Grampians following the worst bushfire conditions since the Black Summer of 2019.
A helicopter is seen on its way to fight fires in the Grampians National Park
However, six emergency warnings remained in force as of 3am (AEDT) on Friday.
Hegarty said in a late-night update that while officials were hoping the fires would subside, “we’re not out of the woods yet with these fires.”
The update came after authorities warned homes were likely to be destroyed by the fire as Victoria faced the worst bushfire conditions since the Black Summer, with flames expected to burn for weeks.
The Grampians fire was significant and will likely burn for weeks even with 600 people on the ground fighting it, Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent said.
‘(It’s) very difficult terrain and very dry there. “The conditions are such that it will be extremely difficult to put it out,” he said.
The fire has caused significant damage to the environment, fences, outbuildings and sheds and has caused stock losses, Nugent said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point we had residential losses,” he said.
Thousands of people were without power Thursday night as extreme heat and strong winds wreaked havoc on power lines, Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said.
“As strong winds intensify, the risks of more localized outages will increase tonight into tomorrow,” he said Thursday.