Avenel residents urged to evacuate, Hume Highway closed as raging bushfire intensifies

2 months ago 17

Residents of north-eastern Victorian communities have been urged to leave immediately as two bushfires continue to burn out of control, closing a section of the Hume Highway.

An emergency warning has been issued for the townships of Avenel, Caveat, Dropmore, Highlands, Ruffy, Tarcombe and Terip Terip.

It comes as a 74-kilometre stretch of the Hume Highway was closed between Seymour and Violet Town, while the state’s north is bracing for temperatures in the 40s ahead of Friday’s catastrophic fire conditions.

Residents in the Longwood region about 150 kilometres north of Melbourne – an area experiencing little relief from the continuing heatwave – are urged to leave their homes now as a fire burns uncontrolled.

The 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.

The bushfire in Longwood, also threatening residents in Longwood East, Ruffy and Upton Hill, is not under control, authorities confirmed, and is travelling west from Longwood towards Locksley.

“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.”

Another fire near the Victorian/NSW border is still burning out of control, with residents nearby also advised to leave now. The fire ground is 27km west of Walwa, travelling from the Mt Lawson State Park in a southerly direction towards Bungil. A community meeting has 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.