Australia: Emergency crews responding to multiple bushfires across Victoria as of late Feb. 13

Emergency crews are working to contain several bushfires burning across Victoria as of late Feb. 13. Dozens of fires have broken out across the region after strong winds from a passing storm system combined with hot and dry conditions to cause extreme bushfire conditions, particularly across western and central parts of the state. Emergency warnings have been issued for a fire near Newtown and two fires in the Grampians National Park. Watch and Act and Advice warnings have been issued for areas surrounding the emergency warnings and Advice warnings have been issued for other fires burning near Bairnsdale and Stockyard Hill. People in the emergency warning and watch and act areas have been advised to leave immediately if it is safe to do so or to take shelter if it is too late to leave. Relief centers have been opened at the Haddon Recreation Center for those affected by the Newtown fire and at the Grampians Community Health building in Stawell for those affected by the fires in the Grampians National Park. Several roads are closed in the vicinity of the fires. Authorities could issue new warnings or upgrade/rescind existing warnings as fires develop over the coming hours and days; the latest information regarding warnings and advice can be found here.

An unconfirmed number of homes in Pormonal near one of the Grampians National Park fires have reportedly been damaged by the fire and at least five firefighters have been injured. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology is maintaining a fire weather warning for Central, Mallee, North Country, and Wimmera fire districts as of late Feb. 13. The extreme weather has also left more than 470,000 people across Victoria without power as of late Feb. 13 after strong winds downed power lines; authorities are working to restore services, however, given the extent of the outages, they are unable to confirm when power will likely be fully restored.

The bushfires continue to cause some road closures and localized transport disruptions in the affected areas. Depending on the progression of the bushfires, the status of nearby roads could change over the coming hours and days. Authorities could close additional routes within the bushfire complexes and evacuate more communities due to fire activity and the needs of response operators. The return of residents could disrupt traffic flows after authorities lift evacuation orders. Low visibility from smoke and possible ashfall could contribute to traffic delays and congestion in the region. Power outages are possible if fires damage power infrastructure. Authorities may cut off power to parts of the affected area to aid firefighting efforts.

Smoke from fires is a mixture of gases and fine particles from burning trees, plants, and possibly building materials. Such smoke can hurt eyes, irritate the respiratory system, and worsen chronic heart and lung diseases. Smoke may also worsen symptoms for people who have pre-existing respiratory conditions, such as allergies, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).