Emergency services are preparing for extreme bushfire conditions over the Christmas holidays and total fire bans have been declared in several states.
Hot, dry conditions will affect South Australia on Christmas Day with temperatures expected to exceed 30 degrees, prompting a complete fire ban in the Mount Lofty Ranges and the west coast.
“We are in one of the driest periods on record in South Australia’s history,” Premier Peter Malinauskas said on Tuesday.
“That means all we need is heat and wind combined to create the conditions for a complete fire ban and high fire risk weather.”
“We’ve had four firefighters who were injured as a result of a fire that didn’t need to happen and that’s the kind of thing that just makes our stomach turn,” Mr Malinauskas said.
Victoria’s emergency services are expecting the worst conditions on Boxing Day since the deadly Black Summer of 2019-2020, with National Fire Authority chief Jason Heffernan warning the fires would be difficult to contain.
The authority has declared a complete fire ban for Thursday, a day earlier than usual.
“There are two main concerns on Thursday: the fires already burning and any new fires starting as a result of the extreme fire risk,” Mr Heffernan said.
Victorian fire crews are trying to contain a large fire threatening to consume the Grampians National Park.
Boxing Day in Victoria poses a particularly high fire risk, with gusty winds and temperatures expected to hit 40C
People are being told to reconsider their travel plans on Boxing Day.
“Thursday is one of the biggest fire dangers we’ve seen in Victoria since the Black Summer,” said Luke Hegarty from the State Control Centre.
A 45,000 hectare inferno in the Grampians National Park is expected to spread rapidly on Boxing Day, with temperatures predicted to exceed 40C and gusty winds that could spark spot fires up to 15km from the fire front.
“It’s going to be a very hot day with strong, gusty northerly winds bringing extreme fire danger to much of the state,” Met Office senior meteorologist Sarah Scully said.
A gusty change from the southwest later on Boxing Day is expected to bring cooler conditions and even some light rain, but could also shift fire fronts and make life more difficult for firefighters, Scully said.
Hot, dry conditions create extreme fire risk across Australia over Christmas period
Grampians Tourism chief executive Mark Sleeman said the fire was costing the local economy $1.9 million a day.
“We are going to need some immediate intervention and financial support from both the federal and state governments to revive our local visitor economy,” he told AAP.
Sleeman almost lost his home in the Pomonal bushfires in February and will spend Christmas Day preparing to defend it again while his family stays elsewhere.
“I will be here until it is not safe to stay and then I will evacuate,” he said.
Another bushfire has been contained in Bullengarook, northwest of Melbourne, while a fire continues to burn in Gurdies, west Gippsland.
In New South Wales, several small bush and grass fires remain active but are under control, although a significant part of the state faces a high fire danger on Boxing Day.
In Western Australia, a “too late to leave” alert was still in effect for residents near the Wheat Belt town of Northam in Western Australia late on Tuesday.