Major emergency for Victorian residents in Bornes Hill and North Boundary Rd area, now in bushfire’s path: ‘Take shelter now’

Residents in parts of Victoria’s southwest have been told to take shelter immediately, as a bushfire at Grampians National Park is not yet under control.

A warning for Bornes Hill and North Boundary Rd has been issued by VicEmergency.

“It is too late to leave the area safely so you must take shelter now,” VicEmergency said.

“Firefighters are responding to this area.

“You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive.

“The safest option is to take shelter indoors immediately.

“It is too late to leave.”

Damaging winds are set to fan extreme fire danger, as hot and dry weather envelops large parts of Victoria, southwest NSW and much of eastern South Australia.

Authorities are bracing for the worst conditions since the 2019 Black Summer.

The mercury is set to reach the high 30s to 40s for much of Victoria and inland Australia, with the central western Queensland town of Birdsville forecast for a 47C belter.

Gusts of up to 100km/h were strong enough to bring down trees and power lines, and cause minor power outages, Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Dean Narramore said.

A high-pressure trough which brought temperatures in the high 30s to South Australia on Christmas Day is slowly trekking across the border to Victoria.

Temperatures are forecast to be even higher on Thursday, with all but one region of Victoria to face extreme fire risk.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen said the message “couldn’t be clearer”.

“Today’s a day of total fire ban across Victoria,” she said. “Don’t be a d***head. No fires to be lit.”

“Today’s conditions are expected to be the worst since the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfire season.

“Make sure you stay up to date with the latest warnings via the VicEmergency app, website or your emergency broadcaster.

“Reconsider travel and if your plan is to leave — leave early.”

Total fire bans have also been declared for SA’s Mid North, Riverland, Murraylands, Upper South East and Lower South East regions.

The dangerous conditions could further fuel an out-of-control bushfire in Victoria’s Grampians National Park which has been burning for days, covering more than 50,000 ha.

Victoria State Control Centre spokesman Luke Hegarty warned people in the Grampians, The Gurdies, Bullengarook and Creswick to prepare bushfire survival plans.

“If you’re in those areas, please take our advice and be gone by 10am this morning ... you need to leave those areas and move to somewhere else, somewhere safe,” he said.

Strong and gusty winds had the potential to spread existing burning fires towards communities that had not been under a warning, he said.

“Any fire that starts today is likely to spread quickly and be incredibly difficult for crews to control.”

Ordered to leave

Residents in the Grampians towns of Bornes Hill, Moyston and Pomonal were ordered to leave on Wednesday as the blaze raced towards them.

However, by 7am on Thursday all remaining residents were told to take shelter as conditions had become too dangerous to leave.

Evacuation orders are now also in place for Gazette, Gerrigerrup, Hawkesdale, Macarthur, Penshurst and Yatchaw.

A grass fire at Gazette is not yet under control and travelling south from Twomeys Bridge Rd towards Gerrigerrup.

Penshurst-Macarthur Rd is closed between Mt Napier Rd and Burgers Rd, and drivers are urged to check VicTraffic for updated information.

With a warm morning already setting in over the region, Northern Grampians Shire Council mayor Karen Hyslop said she was nervously waiting to see what the day would bring.

“There’s 18 aircraft out there at the moment and 300 firefighters,” Hyslop told ABC Radio.

“So there’s a lot of people out there trying to protect us and trying to make sure that these fires can be contained.”

Tasmanian firefighting personnel have been sent to assist, with the first rotation to arrive in Victoria on Thursday morning.

Emergency Management Minister Jenny McAllister said the federal government had yet to receive any formal requests for assistance, but was ready for support.

“There are as many as 300 personnel who in the coming days will be rotating through Victoria, coming in from other states and territories to support their fellow Australians,” she said.

Narramore said the combination of strong winds, high temperatures and dry air made for dangerous fire activity.

“Any fire that does get going or already is ongoing around the Grampians will likely be uncontrollable and uncontainable, leading to dangerous and erratic fire behaviour,” he said.

Power provider AusNet warned customers that cuts could be triggered to prevent bushfires from starting and outages could last longer to ensure safety.

As a cool change washes over Victoria on Thursday night, hot, dry and windy conditions will push into parts of central northeastern NSW, bringing extreme fire danger on Friday.

Cooler weather is moving through central South Australia and will hit western Victoria by Thursday afternoon.

Central Victoria, including Melbourne, will feel relief by the evening, which will extend through much of northern and eastern Victoria and southern NSW overnight and into the early hours of Friday.

Emergency advice

VicEmergency has urged those in the affected areas to move indoors.

Other advice includes:

• Protect yourself by wearing long sleeves and trousers, made from pure cotton or wool. Wear leather boots.
• Bring your pets inside.
• Close all exterior doors, windows and vents and turn off cooling systems.
• You must take shelter before the fire arrives. The extreme heat is likely to kill you well before the flames reach you.
• Shelter in a room that has two exits, such as a door or window including one directly to the outside. It is important to be able to see outside so you know what is happening with the fire.

If your home catches on fire:

• Move away from the rooms that are on fire, closing doors behind you.
• As soon as the bushfire has passed the house, or conditions inside become unbearable, you need to get out and go to an area that has already been burnt. Staying inside a burning building will almost certainly end in death.
• It may still be too hot to remain outside, so you will need to seek shelter in another structure or last resort option.

If you cannot get indoors, last resort options include:

• Shelter in the middle of a large open area like a ploughed paddock, football oval or sporting reserve.
• Get into a large body of water like a dam, lake, river, the ocean or inground pool.
• Try to protect yourself from the fire’s heat.

If you are travelling:

• If you are travelling, do not enter the warning area. Make a U-turn and travel to safety.
• If you are currently driving, slow down and turn on your headlights. Smoke will make it difficult to see.

If you are caught in fire in your car:

• Park off the road behind a solid structure to block the fire’s heat, or pull over to a cleared area.
• Try to position the car towards the approaching fire.
• Turn on your hazard lights and headlights.
• Close all windows.
• Turn off the air-conditioning and shut all the air vents.
• Turn your car engine off.
• Get down as low as possible below window level and cover up with a pure woollen blanket.