Australia declared a state of disaster in Victoria as fast-moving bushfires destroyed homes and scorched vast tracts of forest during a searing heatwave, with authorities warning dangerous conditions persist even as some fronts ease.
Temperatures surged past 40C across the southeast this week, and hot, shifting winds fanned some of the most perilous fire weather since the Black Summer of 2019-2020. One of the fiercest blazes tore through almost 150,000 hectares near Longwood, a region known for dense native forests.
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Premier Jacinta Allan announced the state of disaster, granting emergency powers that allow fire crews to compel evacuations in high-risk areas. Allan said three people reported missing inside one of the most dangerous fire grounds had been located.
Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch said at least 130 structures across Victoria had been destroyed, a tally that includes houses, sheds and other buildings. “We’ve seen significant livestock, cropping land and vineyards that have also been impacted or destroyed,” he told reporters, adding that ten major fires were still burning despite improved weather on some fronts.
Hundreds of firefighters from across Australia have been deployed to bolster local crews stretched by multiple large incidents and days of extreme heat. While the most intense activity has been concentrated in sparsely populated rural districts—where some townships count only a few hundred residents—the scale of the damage and the potential for sudden flare-ups kept incident controllers on high alert.
“There were embers falling everywhere. It was terrifying,” cattle farmer Scott Purcell told national broadcaster ABC as he described defending his property from a shower of sparks driven by gusting winds.
Near the small border town of Walwa, fire authorities said a bushfire crackled with lightning as it generated enough heat to spawn a localized thunderstorm, a dramatic sign of fire-fueled weather that can rapidly shift wind patterns and intensify fire behavior.
The heatwave has stressed wildlife and communities across multiple states. A local rescue group in South Australia reported hundreds of baby bats died earlier in the week as temperatures soared, while millions of people across southeastern Australia endured days of blistering heat.
The new disaster declaration revived memories of the Black Summer bushfires that raged from late 2019 to early 2020, burning millions of hectares, destroying thousands of homes and blanketing major cities in smoke. Researchers say Australia’s climate has warmed by an average of 1.51C since 1910, fueling more frequent and intense extremes on land and at sea.
As assessments continue and containment lines are strengthened, authorities said their focus remains on protecting life and critical infrastructure, supporting impacted communities and monitoring changing weather that could drive fresh flare-ups in the days ahead.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
