Australia: ‘Out of control’ fires prompt evacuations as country swelters in ‘scorching’ heat

Out-of-control bushfires prompted the evacuations of hundreds of residents and tourists in rural southeast Australia, on Sunday (Oct 1) as the country sweltered in a heat wave. The high temperatures have also led officials to issue fire bans for large swathes of New South Wales state.

Hundreds evacuated

In the Australian state of Victoria, officials have ordered evacuations of hundreds of people in four towns in Gippsland, a region of national parks and wineries popular with tourists, about 320 kilometres east of the state capital Melbourne, due to an out-of-control bushfire.

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Additionally, three other towns and surrounding areas were warned to prepare to leave. “I watched the main water tank, the plastic tanks melt away,” Briagolong resident Rob Saunders, who saw the flames reach his house, told public broadcaster ABC.

“The car port is gone, the camper trailer and bits and pieces all went up (in flames)...I looked to the side of my house, it’s a mud brick, raw timber house, one of my verandah posts was on fire...it was time for me to go,” said the Briagolong resident.

Australia witnesses high temperatures

The Australian weather forecaster said temperatures would be up to 12 degrees Celsius above average in some areas, with Sydney, set to witness 36 degrees Celsius.

The temperature in Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport hit 34.6 degrees Celsius at 0300 GMT, more than 11 degrees above the October mean maximum temperature.

Later in the day, temperatures in Sydney reached 35.5 degrees Celsius, reported AFP, which was the warmest October day since 2019. The hottest October day on record was 38.2 degrees Celsius in 2004.

“To even be within cooee (near to records) on the first day of the month is unusual, for sure,” Angus Hines, senior meteorologist from the Bureau of Meteorology told AFP.

This comes as the country already faces a high-risk bushfire season following the onset of the El Nino weather event which typically follows extreme events such as wildfires, cyclones and droughts.

Start of official bushfire danger period

The country’s State Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib also announced the beginning of an official bushfire danger period amid “scorching” raising the risk for the upcoming week.

“Not only is it hot, it’s dry and it's windy and those conditions combined are the perfect storm,” said Dib, as quoted by Reuters.

Meanwhile, fire officials on Sunday issued nine total fire bans for parts of New South Wales state to reduce the chance of bushfires.

This comes after the country witnessed catastrophic bushfires in 2019-2020 which were dubbed the “Black Summer” where the blazes destroyed an area the size of Turkey and killed over 30 people.

(With inputs from agencies)

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